Authors: Christos Frangos, Pericles Dimitropoulos

Title: The role of museums and Cultural diversity in strengthening cultural tourists’loyaltyThe case of Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract

Cultural tourism is affirmed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2018) as a major driving force of international tourism consumption, accounting for over 39% of tourism arrivals, according to Richards(2018a,b). In the present study, we performed a sample survey among 1000 foreign tourists in Thessaloniki and show that 65% of tourists travel for visiting museums and historical monuments, while at the same time they develop loyalty towards Thessaloniki as a tourism destination and declare their admiration for its history.Factor analysis shows that the cultural image of Thessaloniki consists of four components: a. natural attractions and cultural diversity (historical monuments, museums, architectural style and popular art); b. security environment (security of Greece and Thessaloniki); c. entertainment(Greek music, nightlife) and d. Food and people(Greek cuisine and friendliness of local people). Two multiple regression models were developed which show that the cultural characteristics of Thessaloniki are important motivating factors for tourists to visit the city and to increase the number of nights staying in it.

Key words: Cultural Tourism, Thessaloniki, museums, History, Sample Survey.

JEL classification :A10,C40,L83,M20,O13,Q01,Z10