Tourism Business Sector Stance in Front of a Sport Tourism Development: Focusing on Crete Gaitanakis, L., Vrondou, O., Kriemadis. A., & Douvis, G. University of Peloponnese Faculty of Human Movement and Quality of Life Department of Sports Management

Introduction The tourism sector has a global dynamic that plays a key role in the social and economic structures of countries in regional and local level For the Greek economy, tourism is a key pylon of growth for with significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product, employment and investment Today, the crisis affecting the Greek economy suggests the need to adopt measures in the direction of adapting to a new development model, with emphasis on the benefits of the country and stimulating the extroversion At the same time, tourism along with the shipping are the most extroverted areas of Greek economy

International Tourist Arrivals o 2012, 1 bn o , 1,4 bn o , 1,8 bn

The region of Crete

The region of Crete in numbers Covering an area of km 2 (or 6.3% of Greek national territory), Crete is the largest island in the Hellenic space, 58% of tourism exchange in the whole of Greece derives from the region of Crete, Seeking to sample a typical mass tourism area, Crete was selected because of its international tourism significance, The population of ~621,340 or 5.8% of the total population distributed between four Prefectures, The economy of Crete is based on agriculture, tourism and trade

Aim of the Research Aim of the Research The focus of the present study is placed on the response of the local tourism industry and its sensitivity towards sport-related tourism products. The acceptability and accommodation for local tourism businesses remains the most crucial factor for a successful sport tourism development in region of Crete

Methodology Applied qualitative research Semi-structured interviews Predefined questions Content analysis

Region of Crete Samples N = 6 Local Tourism Business Sector 1.President of Hotel’s Association of Heraklion 2.President of the PanHellenic Association of hotel managers 3.President of the Association of Travel Agents Crete 4.Representative of the Greek Chamber of Commerce 5.Representative for tourism, Heraklion Chamber of Commerce 6.Crete Golf Company Director, Heraklion Methodology

Results

The tourism business sector response There is no specific policy for the development of sport tourism in Greece Policymaking for upgrading and diversifying the tourism products towards special and alternative forms of tourism are inactive Local authority in the region of Crete fails to produce an effective developmental plan for the development of sports tourism The institutional and land use development framework of sports tourism in Crete has not been delineated

Identifying the problematic tourism setting There is no cooperation between local tourism stakeholders and the central government/Ministry in Athens There is an evident lack of cooperation between the authority of Region of Crete (government’s representation locally) and the local tourism development stakeholders No cooperation between different tourism players in Crete A high seasonal tourism demand, A mono-thematic tourism offer

The way forward

Suggesting the way forward Decisive intervention of public policy that would provide broader business perspectives and thus would attract significant private investment Presently sport specific tourism facilities are limited, based on private initiative and little public funding Creation of specific infrastructure (such as marinas, access to the countryside, sport tourism services etc.) able to accommodate sport-related tourism forms Designated international promotion and advertising for sports tourism incorporated to the national campaign Design an effective diversification strategy for the tourism product and Redefine the identity of Crete towards creating a sport related brand name

Concluding

Concluding considerations The central government has not activated the possibilities offered by the Region of Crete, and especially has not develop a policy for the development of sports tourism, both at national and regional level The position of business tourism sector is quite diverse in the past in terms of upgrading and regenerating the tourism product There is a need for a policy for the development of sports tourism, but businesses not optimistic that this can be done effectively by the central government The relations between tourism stakeholders are loose and hesitant The insecurity that tourism business have with the central government, the unilateral stance of the central government to tourism business, create a changing and unstable area of ​​ cooperation

Final remark  Crete can develop alternative forms of tourism and sports in particular, but this can not be done by a single central government policy, because tourism entrepreneurs do not trust the distant central procedures and functions  The tourism entrepreneurs wish to diversify the tourism product, but they want to design a common development policy with the Region of Crete and the central authority/Ministry of Tourism

Thank you for your attention ! University of Peloponnese Faculty of Human Movement and Quality of Life Department of Sports Management