Analysis of the location
Identify and analyze the issues that are faced by the tourism industry of the area and the positive as well as the negative impacts of the tourism activity on the host community.
Santorini is one of the most visited locations in the country of Greece. The island is a part of the Cyclades islands located in the Aegean Sea. The island was left devastated by a volcanic eruption that took place in the 16th century BC. This volcanic eruption has resulted in the permanent changes in the concerned landscape (Santorini-holidays.com 2018). The following report deals with the analysis of the tourist visitations to the location and explores the reasons that might have led to the high amount of the attraction among the tourists who have been visiting the area. The report further proceeds to identify and analyze the issues that are faced by the tourism industry of the area and the positive as well as the negative impacts of the tourism activity on the host community. The report finally concludes with four different implications that might help to achieve the sustainable outcomes for the tourism industry in the concerned area.
The island of Santorini is one of the major tourist attractions within the territories of Greece. The island is located in the Aegean Sea, almost 200 kilometers towards the southeast of the mainland of Greece. The island is the largest in the small archipelago that is known by the same name and is the residual remains of a volcanic eruption that had taken place in the past. The concerned island serves to attract a huge number of tourists to the country. The island is generally an attraction among the tourists due to the rugged landscape that it has. The cubi-form whitewashed houses that overlook the volcanic crater in the two major towns of the Oia and Fira attracts a huge footfall of tourists to the concerned area. The island witnesses a footfall of about two million tourists within the country (Smith 2018). This helps in earning a huge amount of revenue on the part of the Greek government. According to a 2013 statistical report on the number of footfalls in the country of Greece has been 17.9 million which had led to the country to hold the 16th rank in the world tourism and the 9th rank among the European nations in terms of the footfall of the tourists within the country (Santorini-holidays.com 2018). The concerned area of Santorini has faced a huge earthquake in the year 1956 that had led to the conditions including the closure of the various villages in the concerned area. However, the increase in the number of the tourists who have been visiting the country has aided in the overall growth of the population of the and the economy of the country as a whole. The major attractions in the area are the archaeological remains that are preserved within the caldera or the crater that was formed from the volcanic eruption in the area (Tornosnews.gr 2018). The footfall of the foreign tourists in the island of Santorini is generally very high due to the rugged landscape and the archaeological features that are present within the area. The survey during the year of 2013 revealed that almost 15 million people from the European continent had visited the beautiful island during the year 2013 alone (Santorini-holidays.com 2018).
Reason for attractiveness
The major factor that attracts the various tourists to the island of Santorini is the rugged landscape of the country and the presence of the volcanic crater within the concerned area. The area is also famous for the various beautiful landscape that is existent within the area as well as the archaeological remains within the territories of Santorini. The pumice quarries of the areas were closed down since the year 1986 in order to assist in the preservation of the caldera, one of the main attractions of the area. The major footfall in the area is observed during the summer months. The tourists majorly flock the island in order to visit the archaeological remains from the Minoan era that are evident in the area of Akrotiri (News.com.au 2018). The other factor that attracts the tourists to the island is the cubiform houses of the settlements in the areas of Oia and Fira, the inhabited villages in the island of Santorini. The earthquake that had shaken the island in the 1613 BC had led to the demolition of several buildings and other habitable constructions thereby leading to the desertion of the villages that were once dwelt in by the concerned population in the country.
The major issues that pertain to the tourism industry that is active within the country of Greece might include the conditions that deal with the development of the infrastructure, the matters of networking and the other factors that are necessary for the development of the potential of the tourism business in the country (Dritsakis 2004). The country as a whole is advised to maintain the tourism business in the country in order to maintain the inflow of the foreign currencies that are effective in the purpose of the improvement of the economy of the country. The tourism also affects the issues pertaining to the unemployment within the country (Saarinen 2013). The tourism industry might also affect the other industries in the concerned market like the agricultural industry, the industrial productions and the hospitality industry (García, Vázquez and Macías 2015). The tourism industry also affects the various financial institutes, the transport industries, the telecommunication industries and the numerous travel agencies that are effective within the territories of the country.
The area in discussion, Santorini, is highly affected by the increase of the tourism in the area. The high amount of the inflow of the foreign money in the country might help in the improvement of the economic conditions that exist within the concerned area (Kim, Uysal and Sirgy 2013). The income that is earned from the various tourism related matters might help in the improvement of the financial conditions that are faced by the various residents of the country due to the decrement in the ways of income of the locals of the concerned area (Peeters 2013). The issues that are faced by the concerned industry of tourism within the country of Greece might refer to the various conditions that deal with the unemployment of the majority of residents within the country especially in the area of Santorini. The tourists might face problems due to the fact that the concerned area and the total country due to the lack of the railway communication within the country (Mowforth and Munt 2015). The tourists might also face a huge lot of problems due to the fact that the concerned area lacks rivers and as a result has a scanty vegetation excepting some of the regional fruits and vegetables. This might pose a problem along with the aridity of the area (Peeters 2013). The majority of the area is filled with the volcanic ash soil that help in the unique vegetation in the area. The development of the tourism industry in the area might also face a hindrance due to the underdevelopment of the various factors that relate to the conditions of the proper resorts within the territory of the country, the various resorts that are related to the tourism industry (Kim, Uysal and Sirgy 2013; Mason 2015).
Identification and analysis of tourism issues
The other issues that are faced by the concerned industry within the territories of the country pertain to the conditions that relate to the employment of the concerned locals in the industry. The concerned individuals might be employed in the tourism industry thereby leading to the overall improvement of the tourism industry in the concerned country as well as in the area in discussion, Santorini, Greece (Kim, Uysal and Sirgy 2013). The tourism industry in the area of Santorini might also face an issue in the matters that pertain to the conditions that state that the development of the concerned tourist destination within the country (Saarinen 2013). The development of the concerned destination might refer to the introduction of the various tourism agencies within the concerned region thereby addressing the issues of unemployment as well as the tourism industry within the concerned country (Sharpley and Telfer 2014). The other major issue that is faced by the concerned area in discussion is the lack of the sustainable tourism within the territorial boundaries of Santorini. The tourism industry of the area has been facing huge issues due to the fact that the concerned area lacks the scope of the sustainable tourism thereby risking the preservation of the flora and the fauna of the area as well as the geographical features of the concerned area (Mowforth and Munt 2015). This might lead to the imbalance in the various matters related to the ecology of the area (Swanson and Edgell Sr 2013). The imbalance in the ecology of the concerned area might lead to the improper maintenance of the collapsed caldera or the crater of the volcano that had erupted in the 1613 BC. The remains of the disaster are the major attraction of the area along with the scenic beaches and the towns that overlook the Aegean Sea (Mason 2015). The concerned area is also known to face certain issues due to the lack of the proper transportation in the area. This is due to the fact that the majority of the area is related to the residual; remains of a huge explosion of an extinct volcano (News.com.au 2018). The country wherein the island is situated is known to be one of the developing countries of the world and lacks in the various amenities that might be needed for the development of the tourism industry in the country (Peeters 2013).
The tourism industry might be known as one of the fastest growing industries in the global market. This industry is known for the huge amount of the contributions that it extends towards the Gross Domestic Product on a global basis (Impact of Tourism 2018). The industry is known to be one of the major sources that help in the increment of the economic conditions that exist in the developing countries of the world. The tourism industry finds a voluptuous growth in the modern times due to the fact that there exists a huge amount of competition among the various tourist destinations that are present all over the world. The tourism industry is known to be one of the reasons for the increase in the chances of employment among the concerned youth of the host countries within which the tourist attraction is located.
The tourism industry active within the country of Greece and specifically in the area of Santorini might have some positive as well as some negative impacts on the host area. The positive impacts of the tourism industry on the host community in this case relates to the employment of the concerned youth of the country as well as the area that is being discussed within the report (Smit 2015). This might help the concerned government to address the issues that are related to the unemployment of the youth of the concerned country thereby helping in the overall improvement of the economy of the concerned country (Kim, Uysal and Sirgy 2013). The country of Greece might benefit greatly from the implementation of the various matters that deal with the various job opportunities that are present within the country and other such financial and income opportunities that are made available to the concerned residents of the country. The growth and the boosting of the concerned tourism industry within the country might lead to the numerous other benefits on the part of the concerned country as well as the concerned tourist location by providing the area compatible for the development of the existing infrastructure of the concerned area (Mowforth and Munt 2015). The improvement of the infrastructure of the concerned area thereby leading to the increase in the employment of the concerned section of the population of the country. This in turn might help in boosting the economy of the concerned country or the region that is being discussed, Santorini, Greece. The tourism industry also leads to the conditions wherein the concerned region might face an overall development. This might also help in the increase of the revenues that are earned by the concerned government (Andersson and Lundberg 2013). The tourism industry thus might be said to help in the increase in the revenues that are earned by the concerned government of the country thereby boosting the income of the government and boosting the economy of the country as a whole. In order to promote the tourism industry of the concerned area, the local as well as the central government might need to employ funds for the maintenance and the preservation of the local heritage of the country which might lead to the conditions wherein the host communities might also enjoy better education, facilities, leisurely hours and other such recreational activities.
However, the tourism industry has some negative effects as well. The tourism industry in the country might face certain disadvantages in the fields of the investment in the foreign capital investments that need to be extended in order to manage the various foreign tourists who might have been visiting the area. The tourism industry might require huge capital investments in order to survive. The foreign investors might not at certain times show the proper interest in the matters that pertain to the spread of the tourism in the various developing countries like Greece. The foreign investors might show their interest in the investment in the tourism industry active in the developing countries only in the cases wherein the investors are completely sure of the profit that they might earn against the investment of the capital (Sharpley 2014). The seasonality issues might also pose a huge threat to the development of the tourism industry in the concerned country or region (Stylidis et al. 2014). The seasonality issues might lead to the conditions of the seasonal jobs within the country thereby leading to the leakage of the expenses on the part of the host community involved in the promotion of the tourist attraction within the concerned country. The tourism industry might also be affected by the inflation in the financial conditions that exist within the country at any given point of time.
The country of Greece is seen to be heavily dependent upon the trading activities that are related to the tourism. The Greeks are observed to consider the concerned activity to affect the economy of the country in a major manner. The sustainable development of the tourism industry relates to the various environmental conditions that are existent within the country. This might be considered to be a key product of tourism industry that takes into account all the major factors like the ecological, the economic and the social sub-systems that are prevalent within the concerned country or area (Saarinen 2013). The World Tourism Organization or the WTO has proposed a few policies that might help the concerned country to implement a development in the various matters that pertain to the improvement of the concerned tourism industry that is active in the Santorini island, situated 200 kilometers southeast of the mainland of Greece (Weforum.org 2018). These policies might refer to the development of the infrastructure that is present in the country, the utilization of the various platforms dedicated to the digital marketing that might be used in order to promote the various products and the services that are offered by the concerned country or region wherein the tourist attraction is situated (Ruhanen 2013). These policies might also include the improvement and the development of the areas that were under-developed or lacked the resources to be upheld as the places for tourist attraction (Peeters 2013). The last policy that might be considered is the factor that pertain to the promotion of the natural as well as the cultural heritage of the concerned area, Santorini and Greece as a whole
References
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