Support to the tourism ecosystem: towards a more sustainable, resilient and digital tourism in Greece

The European Commission supported this flagship technical support project targeted at EU Member States wishing to build a more sustainable, resilient and digital tourism ecosystem. The flagship seeks to promote the digital and green transitions, strengthen regional cohesion and support the post COVID-19 recovery of tourism in Europe to make it fit for the future challenges in the global market. The flagship offers activity packages to enable Member States to engage in effective reforms in the area of the tourism ecosystem.

Context 

A key pillar of the Greek economy, tourism is characterised by pronounced seasonality and regional concentration, together with a heavy reliance on small and micro enterprises. This is putting pressure on destinations and weakening the resilience of the tourism ecosystem. Strengthening the evidence base on tourism would support more effective policy making and reforms to enhance the sustainability and resilience of tourism, especially as Greece, currently, lacks a consistent Tourism Satellite Account (TSA). Additionally, while a new law establishing for the first time Destination Management and Marketing Organisations (DMMOs) and Model Tourism Destinations has been implemented, there is a need to understand and incorporate international good practices in the drafting of a roadmap for their creation and operation. This should include a clear process for the ‘on-going’ and ‘ex-post’ evaluation of their operation. Greece’s tourism sector is dominated by micro enterprises, which are extremely vulnerable to external and internal shocks. Support is required to build the growth and resilience of these businesses by addressing key issues such as resource shortages, skills progression, innovation and digitalisation and the building of effective networks is necessary. 

Support delivered   

• Analysing the current situation for implementing the TSA; 
• Guidance note on how to compile the rest of the TSA and organising four capacity building/technical working sessions to support its pilot implementation with the development of a proposal for an action plan; 
• Analysing the current situation and priorities for developing a system of indicators to measure and monitor sustainability of tourism in Greece; 
• Organising two capacity building/technical workshops on compiling the indicators and developing a report with recommendations and guidance on compiling them; 
• Supporting a multi-country workshop on data sharing and integration; 
• Undertaking a diagnosis of current DMMOs and an analysis of criteria for Model Tourism Destinations; 
• Drafting a report, including guidance on strengthening DMMOs and criteria for Model Tourism Destinations for Integrated Management; 
• Undertaking an analysis of the current enabling environment for tourism SMEs, with a particular focus on micro-enterprises; 
• Preparing a report on how to enhance the enabling environment for tourism SMEs, with a particular focus on innovative solutions for micro tourism enterprises.

Results achieved  

The main results of this support project will be: 

• a narrowed TSA implementation gap; 

• upgraded tourism statistics to improve and monitor sustainability and share data to support better decision-making;

• an improved enabling framework for a more sustainable, resilient and digital tourism ecosystem.