Social Tourism: Global Challenges and Approaches

By Joana Lima, Elisa Alén González, Helena Alvelos and 21 more

Social tourism - the practice of offering programmes, events and activities to enable disadvantaged population groups to enjoy tourism - is of increasing interest to academia. Beginning with an introduction to the social tourism concept, its relevance and target groups, this book then provides reflections about emerging topics case studies of programmes in action across Europe, Oceania and the Americas. It considers the tourism experience from the point of view of young people, families, senior citizens and people with disabilities, before covering the impacts of social tourism initiatives on both participants and tourism destinations. It concludes by reflecting on the practical challenges and policy implications emerging from theory and practice, highlighting common challenges and identifying guidelines for designing social tourism initiatives.

This book:

Covers the challenges faced by the sector and the relevance of promoting tourism programmes for disadvantaged groups of society.
Promotes research that bridges theory and practice, permitting the identification of guidelines for more effective social tourism initiatives.
Includes case studies from around the world to provide a global perspective.

An important read for researchers of tourism, social inclusion and accessibility, this book will therefore also be of interest to students and practitioners of these areas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CAB International
• Release date: Mar 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781789241235

Book preview

List of Contributors

Alén González, Elisa is a professor of marketing specializing in tourism marketing at the Faculty of Business Sciences and Tourism, University of Vigo. Elisa’s research work lies in the area of tourist behaviour, ranging from motivation to behavioural intentions, with a focus on improving satisfaction. In recent years, she has focused on different types of tourism, mainly thermal and senior tourism. [e-mail]

Alvelos, Helena graduated in electronics and telecommunications engineering, received an MSc degree in management (MBA) and a PhD in engineering sciences. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism at the University of Aveiro, and teaches subjects in the fields of applied statistics and quality. She has published in several journals and conferences, and currently she is a researcher at the Centre for Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications (CIDMA). Her current research interests include data analysis, quality management and statistical quality control. [e-mail]

Carneiro, Maria João is assistant professor of tourism at the University of Aveiro (UA) (in Portugal) and a researcher at the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP) at the same university. She holds a degree in tourism management and planning from the UA, an MBA from the New University of Lisbon and a PhD in tourism from the UA. She is vice-director of the degree in tourism management and planning at the UA. She has published papers in several journals and conference proceedings. Her research interests include consumer behaviour in tourism, accessible tourism, cultural tourism and tourism impacts. [e-mail]

Carr, Neil is a professor in the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago and the managing editor of Annals of Leisure Research. His research focuses on understanding behaviour, welfare and rights within tourism and leisure experiences, with a particular emphasis on animals, children and families, and sex. [e-mail]

Diekmann, Anya is professor in tourism at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and coordinator of the Alliance for Research of ISTO (International Organisation of Social Tourism). Her research integrates aspects of social tourism in Belgium and Europe with a particular focus on social tourism systems and the benefits of tourism on well-being and social inclusion. Anya. [e-mail]

Domínguez Vila, Trinidad is an associate professor of business management and marketing in the Faculty of Business Sciences and Tourism, University of Vigo. Her mainly research interests are focused on tourist behaviour and motivation of people with disabilities. Nowadays, her research works are focused on seniors and smart tourism too. [e-mail]

Estrada-González, Adriana E. is a leisure/tourism professor at Universidad de Monterrey (Mexico). She received a BA in leisure management studies from UMNE (Monterrey, Mexico). She continued her studies at WICE (Leeuwarden, The Netherlands), holding an MA in international leisure studies, and she studied a PhD in leisure and human development at Universidad de Deusto (Bilbao, Spain). Adriana was a member of the World Leisure Organization (WLO) Board of Directors (1997–2003) and was in charge of the Local Secretariat of the 3rd WLO Congress (Jaipur, India); she also organized a WLO International Seminar ‘Leisure Education and Youth at Risk’ (Monterrey, Mexico). She was awarded the WLO Hillel Ruskin Memorial Scholar Lecture (2014). [e-mail]

Eusébio, Celeste is associate professor of tourism and a researcher at the GOVCOPP (Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies) at the University of Aveiro (Portugal). She holds a degree in tourism management and planning from the University of Aveiro, a Master’s in economics from the University of Coimbra and a doctoral degree in tourism, also from the University of Aveiro. Her research interests include social tourism, accessible tourism, tourism economics, tourism impacts, tourism forecasts and consumer behaviour in tourism. She is at present the coordinator of the degree in tourism management and planning at the University of Aveiro. [e-mail]

Figueiredo, Elisabete is a sociologist and an associate professor, with habilitation, of the Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences and researcher at the GOVCOPP (Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies) of the University of Aveiro. Her research interests include contrasting social representations and imaginaries on rural areas and on rurality; rural development policies and strategies; rural reconfiguration and restructuring processes; rural tourism; and social and accessible tourism. [e-mail]

Gabruč, Janja is assistant professor at the Faculty of Tourism Studies – Turistica, University of Primorska in courses covering employees and consumers in tourism. She graduated from the College of Social Work in Ljubljana and completed her Master’s and doctoral studies at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences of the University of Maribor. She has participated in several national projects. Her main research interest is social sustainability in tourism (social tourism). [e-mail]

Kakoudakis, Konstantinos I. is a lecturer in hospitality and tourism management at the University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus Campus. His research interests revolve around social tourism, sustainable development and working conditions in the hospitality industry. He was previously researcher/consultant in tourism development projects co-funded by the European Union, while he has also several years of work experience in the tourism industry. He holds a PhD from the University of Nottingham, UK. [e-mail]

Kastenholz, Elisabeth is associate professor in the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, University of Aveiro, where she teaches tourism- and marketing-related subjects and coordinates a PhD program in Marketing and Strategy. She holds a PhD in tourism studies, an MBA, a degree in tourism management and planning, and a bachelor’s in public administration – specialty foreign affairs. She is a member of the Research Unit GOVCOPP, of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Tourismuswissenschaft and of the Portuguese Society of Rural Studies. Her research interests focus on consumer behaviour in tourism, the tourist/destination experience, sustainable destination marketing, and development, rural, wine and accessible tourism. [e-mail]

Komppula, Raija is professor of marketing, especially tourism business, at the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu Campus, Business School. Her research interests include research on tourist experience, new service development in tourism, destination branding, small business research and entrepreneurship, cooperation and networks, particularly in the context of rural and naturebased tourism. The field of well-being tourism, with a focus on nature-based tourism and social tourism are current areas of interest of her research group. Professor Komppula has several positions of trust in the tourism industry in Finland, and she is a member of AIEST, ISTO and TRC. [e-mail]

Lima, Joana is an assistant professor at the University of Évora and a researcher at the CIDEHUS and GOVCOPP Research Units. She holds a PhD in tourism from the University of Aveiro. Her PhD thesis focused on the effects of family tourism, particularizing the case of the low-income families. Since 2008, she has been a research assistant in four research projects in Portugal, of which three were in the field of social tourism. She was the main research assistant in another research project aimed at studying the rural tourism experience and sustainable development. Her main research areas of interests are: social tourism, family tourism, impacts of tourism on tourists and the tourist experience. Her main publications are in the fields of rural tourism, accessible tourism and family tourism. [e-mail]

Losada Sánchez, Nieves is a researcher in the Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro. She is a specialist in senior tourism. [e-mail]

Loureiro, Cátia holds a degree in tourism from the Polytechnic Institute of Gaya (2008) and a Master’s in management and planning in tourism from the University of Aveiro (2014). [e-mail]

McCabe, Scott is professor of marketing and tourism at the Nottingham University Business School and professor of tourism marketing/management at the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu. Scott’s research is primarily on tourist consumer behaviour and tourist decisionmaking. More recently, his work has engaged debates in pro-social and pro-environmental tourist consumption, as well as responsible and ethical consumer behaviour. Scott is interested in the qualities of tourist experiences, and how experiences are designed and marketed. [e-mail]

Medarić, Zorana is an assistant at the Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, in courses covering the social aspects of tourism and qualitative research in tourism. She graduated in sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana and received her Master’s degree in sociology – social politics from the same faculty. She is also a researcher at the Science and Research Centre of Koper. She has been involved in several national and international projects in the fields of tourism, sociology of everyday life, interculturality and migration. [e-mail]

Michel, Xavier is an assistant professor in geography at the University of Caen-Normandy (France), where he is responsible for the Master’s degree in educational travel and tourism (Voyages, séjours, mobilités scolaires et éducatifs). His research interests are focused on outdoor tourist experiences, tourist mobilities, tourism and well-being, slow tourism, youth, social and educational tourism (summer camps, school trips and student mobilities). He deals in particular with the access to tourist experiences and tourist relationships with the environment. He is a member of the board of several French social tourism organizers. [e-mail]

Minnaert, Lynn is the academic director and a clinical associate professor at the Jonathan M. Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism at New York University. Her research interests are social tourism for low-income groups, family tourism and the social legacies of mega-events. Her research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the European Union, the International Olympic Committee, regional tourist boards and Meeting Professionals International (MPI). Since 2015, she authors the annual US Family Survey in collaboration with the Family Travel Association. She is on the editorial board of Hotel and Tourism Management, and on the international advisory board for the International Journal of Contemporary Tourism Research. [e-mail]

Papadoulaki, Katerina is administrative operations supervisor in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, at the University of Crete, Greece. She has previously worked at the Hellenic Open University, School of Humanities. Her research interests include alternative forms of tourism, innovation in tourism and tourism education, and entrepreneurship with an emphasis on the historical development of travel and tourism enterprises. She holds a PhD in social and economic history from the Hellenic Open University, School of Humanities, in Greece. [e-mail]

Pedrosa, Mariana is a controller and management assistant at the Implantology Institute in Lisbon (Portugal). She has a degree in economics from the University of Aveiro (2012), Portugal, and a Master’s degree in tourism management and planning from the same University (2016). In her Master’s thesis the main areas covered were social tourism, families with disabled children and social tourism programmes for these families. [e-mail]

Rutherford, Gill is a senior lecturer in education and disability studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand. A teacher educator, her research and practice focus on inclusive education (including inclusive teacher education); disability studies; disabled students’ experiences of school; and teacher aides’ role in education. [e-mail]

Shiraani, Fathimath is a PhD candidate at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Her PhD focuses on exploring the tourism experiences of disabled children, as described and understood from the perspectives of children. [e-mail]

Vento, Elli is a project researcher and a PhD student at the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu Campus, Business School. Currently, she is exploring the effects of social tourism in the Finnish context. [e-mail]

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UIDB/00057/2020.

Introduction

Joana Lima¹* and Celeste Eusébio²

¹Social Sciences School, University of Évora and CIDEHUS Research Unit, Évora, Portugal; ²Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, University of Aveiro and GOVCOPP Research Unit, Aveiro, Portugal

*Corresponding author: [e-mail]

© CAB International 2021. Social Tourism: Global Challenges and Approaches (eds J. Lima and C. Eusébio)

DOI: 10.1079/9781789241211.0001

Why a Book Reflecting on Social Tourism Around the World?

The importance of holidays and travelling for human well-being has been formally recognized since 1948, with the recognition by the United Nations of holidays as a basic human right for individuals. This importance has since been reiterated by several governments that have recognized the right to paid holidays over the years (Hall and Brown, 2006). As stated by Richards (1999), holidays away from home (tourism) mitigate two constraints of daily life – time and place – creating conditions for individuals to dedicate themselves to their personal and social fulfilment.

Despite the recognition of tourism as an important part of present-day life, today’s society is also marked by a worsening of social inequalities, even within developed countries. Consequently, a significant part (not to say a majority) of the population still doesn’t have access to tourism. There are several constraints to the practice of tourism, among which the low level of income stands out as one of the most important.

In order to combat this inequality of access to tourism, the development of tourism programmes aimed at disadvantaged social groups is a possible measure to provide individuals who do not have access to tourism the opportunity to participate in this activity. Existing studies, although it is recognized that there is no unique definition, consensually consider that social tourism is related to initiatives that aim to include groups in tourism activities who are otherwise excluded from it. This measure, despite already arousing the interest of various entities (such as the European Economic and Social Committee, several private social tourism organizations and some governments around the world), has not yet received extensive and effective recognition or investment (either regarding financing or scientific studies).

As mentioned before, this is a topic that has only received more attention from researchers in recent years: only from 2008 did the number of publications start to grow significantly (according to a search performed on the Scopus database with ‘social tourism’ as keyword and limited to studies with this expression in the title, abstract or keywords), even though the first published article, to our knowledge, dates from 1951.

Most of the authors in the field recognize the positive effects of social tourism for its participants and society as a whole (e.g. Smith and Hughes, 1999; Minnaert, 2006; Minnaert et al., 2009; McCabe et al., 2010). The results of most studies stress the importance of social tourism for its participants, in terms of well-being and quality of life improvement, and also emphasize benefits for learning and development of social behaviour. These results seem to indicate that encouraging tourism for disadvantaged groups may facilitate social inclusion, encouraging social solidarity and collective cohesion and leading to a decrease in poverty and exclusion. Another common conclusion of most studies is the recognition of the need for public intervention in social tourism initiatives, and the challenges this fact represents, in a period with important financial restrictions for most governments, are commonly recognized (Lima and Moura, 2017).

Reflections on social tourism, both conceptual and empirical, still seem to be necessary as a starting point for designing efficient strategies to promote what is now considered a basic right of individuals and a dimension that characterizes modern society and quality of life – access to tourism. Existing research provides solid ground to develop further research, but there is indeed a window of opportunity for significantly improving knowledge on this topic.

In this sense, it is important to stress again that further research work is required, calling for more wide-ranging and transnational comparisons. Consequently, the opportunity to bring together conceptual chapters and others with practical examples from all around the world and analysing different targets inspired us to produce this book.

Structure of the Book

As editors of this book we are excited to present this compilation of rich, diverse chapters on social tourism. The following 13 chapters bring together a variety of perspectives on social tourism around the world, illustrate many approaches that can be taken and point out directions for the future of social tourism.

Part II is composed of case studies, with three chapters discussing the historical evolution of the concept and implementation of social tourism in different parts of the world. This discussion also results in the identification of challenges and opportunities for the development of social tourism in these contexts. In Greece, as discussed in Chapter 1, social tourism has been a part of social welfare policy for almost four decades. Its practice, however, has seen significant fluctuations over time owing to a diversity of factors, but programmes are still operative and are almost exclusively supported by the public sector. In Mexico, the development of social tourism is relatively recent as it was only during the 20th century that tourism became more formally organized and involved public, private and social participation, as pointed out in Chapter 2. In Finland, although social tourism has a long tradition, it seems to have been neglected in sociopolitical discussions, as stated in Chapter 3. This chapter introduces a case study concerning social tourism in Finland and focuses on challenges and opportunities for the development of social tourism in this country.

Since the 1990s, studies have been published on the effects of tourist practice for visitors, highlighting the importance of the practice of tourism for individuals’ personal and social development (e.g. Smith and Hughes, 1999; Hall and Brown, 2006; Minnaert, 2006; Minnaert et al., 2009; Alexander et al., 2010). These studies identify a set of factors, of individuals and tourism practices, that can influence the way these effects are felt. Consequently, different personal, social and economic conditions, as well as different motivations and different tourist experiences for individuals, lead to different effects or different intensities of these effects (Smith and Hughes, 1999; Shaw and Coles, 2004; Alexander et al., 2010; Dolnicar et al., 2012). When considering studies on the effects of social tourism on participants, one conclusion became evident: the participants of social tourism programmes seem to feel the effects of engaging in tourism activity more intensely (Smith and Hughes, 1999; Minnaert, 2006; McCabe et al., 2010).

Part III (seven chapters) of the book reflects on tourism experiences lived by different target groups of social tourism. An ageing population is a reality that is having a great impact on developed countries. With this in mind, Chapter 4 analyses the INATEL Foundation social tourism programmes offered to seniors and the benefits that the seniors obtained from their participation in these programmes. Regarding the same target, social tourism programmes for seniors in Slovenia and Spain are presented in Chapters 5 and 6, respectively. These programmes are analysed in terms of the characteristics and benefits and their potential for future development. Chapter 7 changes the focus of the analysis to a group that is one of the target groups of social tourism initiatives that faces most travel constraints – low-income families with children with disabilities. This chapter focuses on the Portuguese situation. In Chapter 8, there is a discussion of how to consider children with disabilities in tourism, by listening to their voices regarding their needs and motivations. Also focusing on children, Chapter 9 presents a reflection on the effects of social tourism for the well-being and social inclusion of economically disadvantaged children. Children are the target considered again in Chapter 10, but associated with a different reflection: this chapter discusses the financial accessibility of current children’s camps in France.

The last part of the book is devoted to practical challenges and policy implications. This part starts with a chapter that aims to provide relevant guidelines to develop social tourism programmes for low-income families, based on the interest of a sample of Portuguese low-income families in participating in social tourism programmes (Chapter 11). Chapter 12 provides a reflection on the roles of the public, private and voluntary sector in social tourism provision in Flanders, with a view to designing new business models for solving social problems. This part of the book ends with Chapter 13, where a critical reflection concerning social tourism policies is undertaken.

The last part of the book presents the Conclusions. This chapter aims at identifying the main contribution of each chapter, summarizing some challenges and identifying approaches for the future of social tourism around the world.

Hopes and Expectations for the Book

As mentioned above, many people are still prevented from participating in tourism activities owing to various constraints (e.g. physical disabilities, poor economic conditions, reduced mobility and social isolation). To overcome these constraints to travel, it is essential to develop innovative social tourism initiatives worldwide. It thus becomes imperative to think critically about the challenges and the approaches concerning social tourism initiatives offered around the world in order to facilitate access for disadvantaged groups (seniors, low-income families, children and youth, and people with disabilities) to tourism activities.

This book seeks to bring together contributions from scholars from different parts of the world, in the wide-ranging field of social tourism, adding value to the existing knowledge. However, we recognize that this is only a sample of the initiatives being undertaken globally. For example, neither the situation in Brazil, a country that has a long tradition in social tourism, nor the emerging Asian situation are discussed in this book. Nevertheless, it presents a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, international and future-oriented perspective to understand social tourism in different countries and continents.

As the book presents theoretical reflections on this concept and also examples of practical implementation for different targets, we are hopeful that it will truly contribute to extending knowledge in this field and encourage academic discussion and knowledge-sharing regarding the relevance of thinking of tourism as a dimension of present-day life, in order to: (i) think critically about the challenges faced by the sector and the relevance of promoting social tourism initiatives for disadvantaged groups of society; (ii) promote research that bridges theory and practice, permitting the identification of guidelines for more effective social tourism initiatives; and (iii) encourage future research in the field.

References

Alexander, Z., Bakir, A. and Wickens, E. (2010) An investigation into the impact of vacation travel on the tourist. International Journal of Tourism Research 12(5), 574–590. DOI: 10.1002/jtr.777.

Dolnicar, S., Yanamandram, V. and Cliff, K. (2012) The contribution of vacations to quality of life. Annals of Tourism Research 39(1), 59–83. DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2011.04.015.

Hall, D. and Brown, F. (2006) Tourism and Welfare: Ethics, Responsibility and Sustained Well-being. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.

Lima, J. and Moura, A. (2017) Reviewing social tourism for future research. Revista Turismo & Desenvolvimento 27/28(2), 27–31.

McCabe, S., Joldersma, T. and Li, C. (2010) Understanding the benefits of social tourism: Linking participation to subjective well-being and quality of life. International Journal of Tourism Research 12(6), 761–773. DOI: 10.1002/jtr.791.

Minnaert, L. (2006) Social tourism: a potential policy to reduce social exclusion? The effects of visitor-related social tourism for low income groups on personal and family development. PhD thesis. University of Westminster, London, UK.

Minnaert, L., Maitland, R. and Miller, G. (2009) Tourism and social policy – the value of social tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 36(2), 316–334.

Richards, G. (1999) Vacations and the quality of life: Patterns and structures. Journal of Business Research 44, 189–198.

Shaw, G. and Coles, T. (2004) Disability, holiday making and the tourism industry in the UK: A preliminary survey. Tourism Management 25(3), 397–403. DOI: 10.1016/S0261-5177(03)00139-0.

Smith, V. and Hughes, H. (1999) Disadvantaged families and the meaning of the holiday. International Journal of Tourism Research 1(3), 123–133. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1522-1970(199903/04)1:2<123::AID-JTR146>3.0.CO;2-R.

1 Social Tourism in Greece: A Brief History of Development from the Interwar Years to the Covid-19 Era

Konstantinos I. Kakoudakis¹* and Katerina Papadoulaki²

¹School of Business and Management, University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus Campus, Larnaca, Cyprus; ²Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece

*Corresponding author: [e-mail]

© CAB International 2021. Social Tourism: Global Challenges and Approaches (eds J. Lima and C. Eusébio)

DOI: 10.1079/9781789241211.0002

1.1 Introduction

Greece is among those European Union Member States, such as France, Belgium and Portugal, that show high levels of active state support with regard to social tourism (e.g. Walton, 2013). This is not surprising given that Greece has a long tradition in social tourism. Although it is difficult to identify the exact starting point of the development of social tourism in the country, available references show that this can be traced back to the interwar years. In the early 1930s, the newly established Greek National Tourism Organization (EOT) organized ‘Sunday excursions’ for the public in order to boost domestic tourism (Katsigiannis, 2017). Over time, Greece’s political, social and economic environment has nurtured other motives too, such as the stimulation of national pride, the manipulation of the masses and the enhancement of all citizens’ well-being and quality of life. Thus, in line with other countries, social tourism in Greece has evolved from both public and private initiatives, encompassing different motives (see La Placa and Corlyon, 2014). Its contemporary form, however, has been associated with the rise to power of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), which, after forming the first Greek socialist government in 1981, emphasized the provision of social welfare entitlements, especially to the lower middle class (see Pagoulatos, 2003), thus creating fruitful ground for the parallel development of social tourism in Greece.

Despite this long history though, and unlike social tourism systems in other countries, such as Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain and the UK (see Minnaert et al., 2012; Eusébio et al., 2016), very little has been written about social tourism in Greece within the international tourism literature. In fact, available information about Greek social tourism is limited to a consultancy report, ‘Calypso Study on Social Tourism in Greece’ (see Détente Consultants, 2010), and a recent paper by Kakoudakis and McCabe (2018). With regard to Greek bibliography, social tourism research also remains scarce, and any available studies have not intersected international literature owing to language and translation barriers, an issue that has been identified by tourism scholars in relation to non-English studies (e.g. Diekmann and McCabe, 2011). Moreover, there is a lack of available and coherent data on Greek social tourism policies and programmes. As a result, these barriers do not facilitate a discussion on the practice of social tourism in Greece over time. As Diekmann and McCabe (2011, p. 418) point out, these limitations ‘represent a gap in the transfer of knowledge between countries and between organisations and academia, which has reduced the level of overall impact of social tourism research on policy’.

While acknowledging the above limitations, the long history of social tourism practice in Greece, and its inclusion in the public policy agenda over the past several decades, makes it a particularly interesting case to study. Therefore, the present chapter attempts to bridge this gap by illustrating the process of social tourism development in Greece, from the interwar years until the present day. The chapter first sets the discussion within the context of the country’s turbulent political, social and economic background, throughout most of the past century, which has exercised significant influence on the development of Greek tourism in general, and social tourism specifically. It then identifies and presents two main phases of social tourism development, highlighting important initiatives and key players that contributed to the incremental evolution of social tourism programmes in Greece, and also events that impeded their implementation and smooth running. Specific emphasis has been given to the past four decades, since this time period has largely shaped the contemporary form of Greek social tourism programmes. Therefore, the chapter explicates the close linkages between the establishment of the modern Greek welfare state in the early 1980s, and the development of social tourism as we know it today. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion on the developmental process of contemporary Greek social tourism over time, and the important socioeconomic implications of its current practice in the aftermath of the Greek financial crisis, and in the midst of the refugee crisis in Europe, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

1.2 The Evolution of Social Tourism in Greece

Looking at the evolution of social tourism in Greece, we can generally identify two main phases of development, according to the degree of organization, application and continuity of social tourism initiatives. The first covers the period from the interwar years until the early 1980s. It is characterized by important and, at the time, novel initiatives, which created the ground upon which contemporary social tourism was founded. Despite their significance, however, these early initiatives lacked systematic organization and continuity. The second phase began in the early 1980s and continues today. It coincides with the establishment of the modern Greek welfare state and the recognition of tourism as a social right, leading to the design of contemporary social tourism programmes, and the expansion of social tourism practice in the country. Despite their differences, however, what both phases have in common are frequent political, economic and social instabilities, which have resulted in recurrent changes in the identity and structure of tourism public administration bodies (Table 1.1), affecting the implementation of Greek tourism policy in general, and social tourism policy and practice, in particular. Arguably, the degree of significance of these changes differs greatly, resulting in respective differences in their implications for social tourism practice. What is certain, though, is that this instability has resulted in severe fluctuations in the organization and direction of Greek tourism, including social tourism, over time.

1.2.1 Political, social and economic background

From a chronological point of view, the first phase of social tourism development in Greece took place during particularly turbulent years, characterized by major historical events (e.g. the Asia Minor catastrophe and its socioeconomic consequences, the Greek–Italian War and the military junta in 1967–1974), and constant political change. During the interwar years, Greece suffered from many political, social and economic problems, such as unstable governance, a large volume of Asia Minor refugees and financial crises (e.g. Forster, 1958). It is because of the latter that tourism attracted government attention and was viewed as a tool for development. Eleftherios Venizelos played a significant role in the development of Greek tourism through several initiatives, such as the establishment of EOT (Papadoulaki, 2011). In addition, the first social tourism concepts in Greece emerged during his second administration (1928–1932), when EOT was considering ways to boost domestic tourism (Katsigiannis, 2017). The emphasis on tourism development continued during the dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas, who took over the country’s administration in 1936, as a result of national and international conjunctures. The first social tourism-related law (Law No. 2436/1940) was passed under his regime (Greek Government Gazette, 1940).

Table 1.1. Recurrent changes in Greek tourism administration bodies (1929 – present).