Asia Pacific Academy of Science Pte. Ltd. (APACSCI) specializes in international journal publishing. APACSCI adopts the open access publishing model and provides an important communication bridge for academic groups whose interest fields include engineering, technology, medicine, computer, mathematics, agriculture and forestry, and environment.
Environment and blue tourism: Moving towards sustainability—6th maritime tourism observatory for Skyros Island
Vol 5, Issue 2, 2024
VIEWS - 140 (Abstract)
Download PDF
Abstract
Ports are some of the most significant entry points for Greek tourism investments and can be characterized as “development tools” for the country, both at the local and national level. The blue economy is a recent example of economic development, globally promoted as a way to achieve sustainability in maritime and coastal areas. Linaria Port has been accredited by the United Nations as “the blue port with a shade of green”, constituting an environmentally sustainable community capable of promoting responsible environmental behavior both within the local community and among tourists. The port has been highly competitive in achieving high sustainability standards and mainly operates in ways that complement environmental quality. It has presented innovative, competitive, and sustainable solutions since 2010. This research aimed to collect primary and secondary data on tourist preferences to evaluate these services. Evaluation was conducted through anonymous questionnaires divided into two parts: the first part concerned the tourist profile, and the second part concerned tourists’ opinions on the services and facilities of the port and the island. In the evaluation of the port, 91% of respondents rated the marina positively compared to other ports in the country, while 77% ranked the port of Skyros in a good position compared to other European or international ports. The overall quality of the tourist product was positively evaluated at 89%, while 90% of visitors were generally satisfied with the overall services offered. Moreover, 95% would return to Skyros within the next few years.
Keywords
References
Katemliadis I, Papatheodorou A. The Importance of Tourism for the Greek Economy: Traits and Development. In: Vlachos V, Bitzenis A, Sergi BS (editors). Modeling Economic Growth in Contemporary Greece: Entrepreneurship and Global Economic Growth. Emerald Publishing Limited; 2021. pp. 263-279. doi: 10.1108/978-1-80071-122-820211019
Tonazzini D, Fosse J, Morales E, et al. Blue tourism: The transition towards sustainable coastal and maritime tourism in world marine regions. Available online: https://www.ecounion.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/BLUE-TOURISM-STUDY.pdf (accessed on 2 March 2024).
Georgakopoulou S, Delitheou V. The Contribution of Alternative Forms of Tourism in Sustainable Tourism Development: The Case of the Island of Kalymnos. In: Katsoni V, Spyriadis T (editors). Cultural and Tourism Innovation in the Digital Era. Springer; 2020.
European Commission. Challenges and Opportunities for Maritime and Coastal Tourism in the EU, Summary Report of the Online Public Consultation Results. European Commission; 2012.
Fisher JB, Nawaz R, Fauzi R, et al. Balancing water, religion and tourism on Redang Island, Malaysia. Environmental Research Letters. 2008; 3(2): 024005. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/3/2/024005
Mohd Sharif N, Tahir S. Residents’ Attitudes toward Impacts of Tourism: A Case Study of Langkawi, Malaysia. Malaysian Management Journal. 2020; 7(2): 13-24. doi: 10.32890/mmj.7.2.2003.8609
Teh L, Cabanban AS. Planning for sustainable tourism in southern Pulau Banggi: An assessment of biophysical conditions and their implications for future tourism development. Journal of Environmental Management. 2007; 85(4): 999-1008. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2006.11.005
UNESCO. Ocean Literacy for All: A Toolkit—UNESCO Digital Library. Available online: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000260721 (accessed on 18 May 2020).
Vitalis V, Plaka V, Antonopoulos K, et al. Sustainability and Tourism: The Tourist Observatory of Skyros Island. Available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346714841_Sustainability_and_Tourism_the_Tourist_Observatory_of_Skyros_Island (accessed on 18 May 2020).
Antonopoulos K, Plaka V, Mparmpakonstanti A, et al. The blue port with a shade of green: The case study of Skyros Island. In: Proceedings of the 7th Health and Environment Conference; 6-8 March, 2017; Dubai, EAU.
Lekakou M, Stefanidaki E, Vaggelas G. The economic impact of cruise to local economies. The case of an island. In: Proceedings of the Athens Tourism Symposium; 2-3 Fenruary 2011; Athens, Greece.
Krabokoukis T, Polyzos S. Spatial inequalities of tourist activity in Greece: A Shift-Share analysis. Anatolia. 2020; 32(1): 93-105. doi: 10.1080/13032917.2020.1851271
Hellenic German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Modern technologies in the shipping industry of Greece and Germany. Available online: https://griechenland.ahk.de/gr/ekdiloseis/plirofories-ekdilosis/sygchrones-technologies-sti-naytiliaki-biomichania-tis-elladas-kai-tis-germanias (accessed 10 February 2024).
Diakomihalis M. Chapter 13 Greek Maritime Tourism: Evolution, Structures and Prospects. Research in Transportation Economics. 2007; 21: 419-455. doi: 10.1016/S0739-8859(07)21013-3
The World Bank. International tourism, number of arrivals—Greece. Available online: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL?locations=GR (accessed on 5 January 2023).
Maragkogianni A, Papaefthimiou S. Evaluating the social cost of cruise ships air emissions in major ports of Greece. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. 2015; 36: 10-17. doi: 10.1016/j.trd.2015.02.014
Nodaraki M, Ntafa E, Tseva E, et al. Maritime Tourism Development and Prospects in Coastal Cities: The Case of Heraklion, Chania and Limassol. In: Stratigea A, Kyriakides E, Nicolaides C (editors). Smart Cities in the Mediterranean. Progress in IS. Springer; 2017.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). North American Cruise Market Profile, 2015. Available online: https://cruising.org/-/media/research-updates/research/consumer-research/2014-north-american-cruise-market-profile.pdf (accessed on 5 January 2023).
Papathanassis A. Guest-to-guest interaction on board cruise ships: Exploring social dynamics and the role of situational factors. Tourism Management. 2012; 33(5): 1148-1158. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2011.11.016
Diakomihalis MN, Lagos DG. An Empirical Approach to Coastal Leisure Shipping in Greece and an Assessment of its Economic Contribution. Tourism Economics. 2011; 17(2): 437-456. doi: 10.5367/te.2011.0038
Mohd Hafiz H. Framing the future agenda of blue tourism in sustainable coastal tourism destinations. Tourism and hospitality management. 2022; 28(2): 465-470. doi: 10.20867/thm.28.2.6
Gössling S. Global environmental consequences of tourism. Global Environmental Change. 2014; 12(4): 283-302.
Randone M, Di Carlo G, Constantini M. Reviving the Economy of the Mediterranean Sea: Actions for a Sustainable future. Available online: http://awsassets.wwfffr.panda.org/downloads/170927_rapport_reviving_mediterranean_sea_economy.pdf (accessed on 6 March 2023).
Ibnou-Laaroussi S, Rjoub H, Wong WK. Sustainability of Green Tourism among International Tourists and Its Influence on the Achievement of Green Environment: Evidence from North Cyprus. Sustainability. 2020; 12(14): 5698. doi: 10.3390/su12145698
Tegar D, Saut Gurning RO. Development of Marine and Coastal Tourism Based on Blue Economy. International Journal of Marine Engineering Innovation and Research. 2018; 2(2). doi: 10.12962/j25481479.v2i2.3650
Cummings G, Greenberg Z. Sustainable Tourism in the Context of the Blue Economy. In: Leal Filho W, Azul AM, Brandli L, et al. (editors). Life Below Water. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer; 2021.
González-Reverté F. Building Sustainable Smart Destinations: An Approach Based on the Development of Spanish Smart Tourism Plans. Sustainability. 2019; 11(23): 6874. doi: 10.3390/su11236874
Lee KH, Noh J, Khim JS. The Blue Economy and the United Nations’ sustainable development goals: Challenges and opportunities. Environment International. 2020; 137: 105528. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105528
OECD. The Ocean Economy in 2030. Available online: https://www.oecd.org/sti/ind/Session%201_b%20-%20Claire%20Jolly%20-%20Web.pdf (accessed on 5 January 2023).
Antonopoulos K, Skanavis C, Plaka V. Exploiting futher potential of linaria port-Skyros: From vision to realization. In: Proceedings of the First Hellenic Conference on Marinas; 2015; Athens, Greece.
Manolas E. Linaria: the green port of the island of Skyros. International Journal of Environmental Studies. 2017; 74(6): 1-3. doi: 10.1080/00207233.2017.1360602
Antonopoulos K, Plaka V, Skanavis C. Linaria port, Skyros: An environmentally friendly port community for leisure crafts. In: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Protection and Restoration of the Environment; 3-8 July 2016; Mykonos Island, Greece. pp. 1054-1062.
Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative. Available online: https://csti-cyprus.org/ (accessed on 6 March 2023).
Malta Tourism Authority. Eco-certification. Available online: https://www.mta.com.mt/en/eco-certification (accessed on 6 March 2023).
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2024 Gerasimina Theodora Zapanti, Ioannis Theodoulou, Kyriakos Antonopoulos, Constantina Skanavis
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Prof. Hung-Che Wu
Nanfang College Guangzhou, China
