The Military Tourism as a special form of alternative tourism and its development prospects in Greece

Panagiota Dionysopoulou, Ph.D.

Director General of Tourism Policy

Ministry of Tourism, 12 Amalias Street, Athens, GR 105 57

Adjunct Professor, Hellenic Open University (HOU) Email: yoldi63@gmail.com

Evangelia Kasimati, Ph.D.

Bank of Greece, Economic Analysis & Research department, 21 Panepistimiou str, Athens, GR 102 50, Email: ekasimati@bankofgreece.gr

Adjunct Professor, Hellenic Open University (HOU)

Charalampos Mylonakis

Hellenic Open University, M.A. in Tourism Management.

Abstract

The present dissertation explores the concept of military tourism as a special form of alternative tourism, documenting both the material found in the existing bibliography and the realistic aspects revealed through the conducted research. Greece, as a country with a continuous and intense military history and activity, possesses all the necessary conditions for the development of this form of tourism. In Part A of the dissertation, theoretical elements and scientific approaches related to the tourism phenomenon and its alternative forms are presented in general, and the concept of military tourism in particular.

Furthermore, current processes and actions in this field in Greece are recorded, along with a series of representative sites, places, and monuments of military interest. In Part B, the findings and results of the distributed questionnaire which constituted the re-search tool are presented and analyzed. The research focuses on topics such as awarness, popularity and the degree of familiarity with the concept of military tourism, as well as on development prospects and the appropriateness of managing institutions. Finally, the dissertation presents the main conclusions and limitations of its content, along with indicative proposals concerning the foundation, organization, and develop-ment of military tourism in Greece.

Keywords: Boutique hotels, Certification, Digital Design, Tourism

JEL codes: L83, Z18, N44