course material

1. Final report case analysis
business case study and need the explanation and answer to help me learn.
Requirements: 2500 words for the main content
The Final Report Case Analysis Suggested Structure Introduction – Summarise where the
company has been and what options its face in the coming future. Signpost what analysis
you plan to do in the rest of the report A potential suggested structure for your Section 2
of the report – Strategic Position Start this section i.e., section 2 and every section with an
opening 1-3 lines about what will happen in the section. Summary discussion of your
external factors making sure you try and identify any connection between your analysis of
these and providing citations for evidence used in your discussion from external
researchers. VRIO Analysis E.g. Strong Brand – sustained competitive advantage
Summary discussion of your internal factors making sure you try and identify any
connection between your analysis of these and providing citations for evidence used in your
discussion from external researchers. Closing summary discussion of your SWOT factors
making sure you try and identify any connection between your analysis of these and
providing citations for evidence used in your discussion from Pestel Factors Porters Five
Forces Factors E.g. - Political - E.g. - Rivalry E.g. - Economic – E.g. Power of Buyers
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Pestel – Macro environment – factors Porters
Five Forces – Industry factors External Factors- Opportunities & Threats Step 1 Resources
& Capabilities – VRIO analysis & Culture, Stakeholders & Governance Internal Factors-
Strengths & Weaknesses SWOT Step 2 Step 3
external researchers. Provide a signposting sentence to what will be coming in the next
section i.e. Section 3 A potential suggested structure for your Section 3 of the report –
Strategic Choices Following from the SWOT analysis from Section 2 we can now use a
TOWS analysis to discuss the Strategic Choices You do not have to list again all the elements
of the SWOT outlined above in the table below. Start this section i.e., section 3 with an
opening 1-3 lines about what will happen in the section. Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities SO – 1) Identify a strength or combination of strengths & an opportunity or a
combination of opportunities and 2) discuss a market option that would utilise the
combined strength(s) and opportunity(s). In your discussion you may want to discussion
the option at 1) a price/cost level by using Porters Generic Strategies/Hybrid
Strategies/Strategy Clock and 2) at a market level using Ansoff Matrix 3) identify any
limitations or special considerations for choosing this option WO – 1) Identify a weakness

2. or combination of weaknesses & an opportunity or a combination of opportunities and 2)
discuss a market option that would utilise the combined weakness (s) and opportunity(s).
In your discussion you may want to discussion the option at 1) a price/cost level by using
Porters Generic Strategies/Hybrid Strategies/Strategy Clock and 2) at a market level using
Ansoff Matrix 3) identify any limitations or special considerations for choosing this option
Threats ST – 1) Identify a strength or combination of strengths & a threat or a combination
of threats and 2) discuss a market option that would utilise the combined strength(s) and
threat(s). In your discussion you may want to discussion the option at 1) a price/cost level
by using Porters Generic Strategies/Hybrid Strategies/Strategy Clock and 2) at a market
level using Ansoff Matrix 3) identify any limitations or special considerations for choosing
this option WT – 1) Identify a weakness or combination of weaknesses & a threat or a
combination of threats and 2) discuss a market option that would utilise the combined
weakness (s) and threats(s). In your discussion you may want to discussion the option at 1)
a price/cost level by using Porters Generic Strategies/Hybrid Strategies/Strategy Clock and
2) at a market level using Ansoff Matrix 3) identify any limitations or special considerations
for choosing this option
As with the discussion in Section 2 providing citations for evidence used in your discussion
from external researchers of each of the discussion of the 4 choices. Closing summary
discussion of your Strategic choices making sure you try and identify any connection
between your analysis of the 4 elements of the TOWS. Provide a signposting sentence to
what will be coming in the next section i.e. Section 4 A potential suggested structure for
your Section 4 of the report – Strategic in Action Drawing on the TOWS table and analysis
from above you can use the SAFe tool to evaluate each option to decide on the best one to
recommend adopting as the strategy. Note below in the number rage 1-5- 5 is the best and 1
the worse Main strategic issues facing ITV from the SWOT analysis: Options | Key Strategic
Issues SUITABLE ACCEPTABLE FEASIBLE Total Score 1. SO - Strategic Choice Allocate a
number between 1-5 to assess how suitable this option is given the key factors identified in
the SWOT Allocate a number between 1-5 to assess how suitable this option is given the
level of risk, level of return and the acceptability of key stakeholders Allocate a number
between 1-5 to assess how suitable this option is given the where the company could afford
it financially, in terms of the people and skills in Add the numbers up and place the result
here
the company now or they can hire. 2. WO - Strategic Choice Allocate a number between 1-
5 to assess how suitable this option is given the key factors identified in the SWOT Allocate
a number between 1-5 to assess how suitable this option is given the level of risk, level of
return and the acceptability of key stakeholders Allocate a number between 1-5 to assess
how suitable this option is given the where the company could afford it financially, in terms
of the people and skills in the company now or they can hire. Add the numbers up and
place the result here 3. ST - Strategic Choice Allocate a number between 1-5 to assess how
suitable this option is given the key factors identified in the SWOT Allocate a number
between 1-5 to assess how suitable this option is given the level of risk, level of return and
the acceptability of key stakeholders Allocate a number between 1-5 to assess how suitable
this option is given the where the company could afford it financially, in terms of the people

3. and skills in the company now or they can hire. Add the numbers up and place the result
here 1. WT - Strategic Choice Allocate a number between 1-5 to assess how suitable this
option is given the key factors identified in the SWOT Allocate a number between 1-5 to
assess how suitable this option is given the level of risk, level of return and the acceptability
of key stakeholders Allocate a number between 1-5 to assess how suitable this option is
given the where the company could afford it financially, in terms of the people and skills in
the company now or they can hire. Add the numbers up and place the result here You can
then explain your scoring above under the headings of Suitability, Acceptability and
Feasibility for the options e.g. Suitability – while Option 1 with a score of 2 is blah blah blah
(in terms of SWOT factors), Option 2 is more with 3 (in terms of SWOT factors) because blah
blah blah and so on for the other 2 options. Evidence used in your discussion from external
researchers. Acceptability – while Option 1 with a score of 4 is blah blah blah (in terms of
risk, return and acceptability by key stakeholders) , Option 2 is more with 1 because blah
blah blah ( in terms of risk, return and acceptability by key stakeholders) and so on for the
other 2 options. Evidence used in your discussion from external researchers. Feasibility –
while Option 3 with a score of 2 is blah blah blah (in terms of financial cost, people and
skills available and ease o integration into the organisation) , Option 3 is more with 3
because blah
blah blah (in terms of financial cost, people and skills available and ease o integration into
the organisation) and so on for the other 2 options. Evidence used in your discussion from
external researchers. Total – The best option and the one that is recommended with a score
of X for the combination of highest of the scoring on Suitability, Acceptability Feasibility.
For the combination of the factors of Sustainability, Acceptability and Feasibility and the
limitations and special considerations in terms of ’ m m , structure, systems and
what might need to change. Conclusion – Summarise what you have done in the report and
the recommendation and put one personal takeaway about what this might mean for the
future of AIE
Final Report. The task for the assignment is to conduct a strategic analysis of Greek Tourism
Industry: Improving the Tourist Product Case using the Exploring Strategy - Strategy
Checklist. The case puts students into the position of a strategy consultant hired by the
Greek government to evaluate the internal and external environment of the Greek tourism
industry and to propose a strategic plan to guide Greek policymakers in improving the
Greek tourist product and achieve stable and healthy growth rates of the Greek tourism
industry. The total wordcount for the report is 2,500 words +/- 10% and there is penalty of
a deduction of 5 points from your final mark if you go outside the wordcount limits. Task
guidelines and tips: Please arrange your final report according to the following sections and
suggested wording for each section: 1. Introduction – 150 words 2. Strategic Position –
What does the case tell you about the strategic position of the Greek Tourism Industry?
(1,000 words) Consider these Strategic Position questions we covered in the tutorials
(What are the environmental opportunities and threats? • What are the organisation’s
strengths and weaknesses? • What is the basic purpose of the organisation? • How does
culture fit the strategy? Who are the stakeholders?) when answering the question. (Make
use of any of the strategic position’s models or tools to evidence your discussion PESTEL,

4. Porter’s Five Forces, VRIO or SWOT) 3. Strategic Choices – From the case details, what
might be some strategic choices that you as a consultant may suggest that are available to
Greek Tourism Industry to develop a strategic plan to improve the Greek tourist product
and achieve stable and healthy growth rates of the Greek tourism industry? Choose no more
than 4 choices (800 words) Consider any of these Strategic Choices questions we covered
in the tutorial (How should business units compete? • Which businesses to include in a
portfolio? • Where should the organisation compete internationally? • Is the organisation
innovating appropriately? • Should the organisation buy other companies, ally or go it
alone?) when answering your question. (Make use of any of the strategic choices’ models or
tools to evidence discussion - Porter’s Generic & Hybrid Strategies, The Strategy Clock, or
Ansoff’s product/market growth matrix). 4. Strategy in Action – From the case details,
what might be some considerations you as a consultant may have in terms of evaluating and
implementing the strategies outlined in Question 3 strategic choices that are available to the
Greek Tourism Industry to develop a strategic plan to improve the Greek tourist product
and achieve stable and healthy growth rates of the Greek tourism industry and choosing one
strategic option to pursue? (400 words) Consider any of these Strategy in Action questions
we covered in the tutorial that are appropriate to the case (Are strategies suitable,
acceptable and feasible? • What kind of strategy making process is needed? • What are the
required organisation structures and systems? • How should the organisation manage
necessary changes? • Who should do what in the strategy process?) when answering your
question. (Make use of any of the Strategy in Action’s models or tools to evidence discussion
– SAFe) 5. Conclusions – 150 words References (at least 10 references including books and
academic peer reviewed articles) Appendices (optional) Please refer to the module Moodle
site for more information.
Greek Tourism Industry: Improving the Tourist Product Case Author: Olga Kassotaki
Online Pub Date: January 02, 2019 | Original Pub. Date: 2019 Subject: Business &
Management, Leadership in Business, Strategic Management & Business Policy Level: |
Type: Indirect case | Length: 4542 Copyright: © Olga Kassotaki 2019 Organization:
Government of Greece | Organization size: Small Region: Southern Europe | State: Industry:
Accommodation and food service activities Originally Published in: Publisher: SAGE
Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526467195 | Online ISBN: 9781526467195 © Olga
Kassotaki 2019 This case was prepared for inclusion in SAGE Business Cases primarily as a
basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or
ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any
kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and
cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes. 2021
SAGE Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The case studies on SAGE Business Cases are
designed and optimized for online learning. Please refer to the online version of this case to
fully experience any video, data embeds, spreadsheets, slides, or other resources that may
be included. This content may only be distributed for use within University of
Greenwich. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526467195
SAGE SAGE Business Cases © Olga Kassotaki 2019 Greek Tourism Industry: Improving the

5. Tourist Product Page 2 of 10 Abstract This case study describes the internal and
external environment of the Greek tourism industry. It analyzes the strengths and weakness
of the Greek tourist product, presents different subsectors of the tourism industry, and
compares Greek tourism to the external and internal competition of the country. The case
puts students into the position of a strategy consultant hired by the Greek government to
evaluate the internal and external environment of the Greek tourism industry and to
propose a strategic plan to guide Greek policymakers in improving the Greek tourist
product and achieve stable and healthy growth rates of the Greek tourism industry.
Introduction Since 2013, the unexpected boom of the Greek tourism industry has been one
of the main contributors to the growth of the Greek economy. Catherine Douka’s company
had been hired by the Greek government in March 2018 to assess the reasons for such an
increase in the number of tourist arrivals and attempt to provide an appropriate strategic
plan that would guide the country toward sustainable growth rates for this industry.
Catherine has decided to start her research by examining the key elements of the industry,
while also assessing industry strengths and weaknesses relative to those of the main
competitors, which are Spain, Italy, Turkey, Croatia, and Cyprus. She plans to use this
information to suggest improvements in the policies and actions needed to increase the
quality of the tourist product, which, in turn, would contribute to stable growth rates and a
potentially bright future for the Greek tourism industry. Key Information Catherine began
her research into the Greek tourism industry by looking into the country’s key figures to
find the inefficiencies of this sector. Her investigation revealed that in 2016 the tourism
industry contributed 18.6% to gross domestic product (GDP), and employed approximately
860,500 people (direct and indirect contribution) (SETE, 2016). Since 2013, this sector has
continuously been growing; therefore, tourism professionals and industry experts have
been projecting that the number of the tourist arrivals (see Figure 1) would increase even
more in the following years (Samitas, Asteriou, Polyzos, & Kenourgios, 2018). In 2016, the
Greek tourism industry accounted for 2% of the global market share, and the country was in
the 29th position of the world ranking with respect to the contribution of tourism to the
Greek GDP (SETE, 2016; World Travel & Tourism Council, 2017). Most importantly, the
number of tourist arrivals in that year reached approximately 25 million people (World
Travel & Tourism Council, 2017).
SAGE SAGE Business Cases © Olga Kassotaki 2019 Greek Tourism Industry: Improving the
Tourist Product Page 3 of 10 Figure 1. Evolution of the International Arrivals in Millions
(2009–2017) Sources: The World Bank, Bank of Greece, INSETE Statistics. Despite the
increased total number of tourist arrivals in 2016, the arrivals from some of the traditional
European countries (e.g., Netherlands and France) were less than expected. Concurrently,
the market share of arrivals from some the most important developing countries (e.g.,
China) was considered too small as compared to the market share of other countries (Ikkos,
Maroulis, Kyratsoulis, & Koutsos, 2017). Also, the tourist season is mostly limited to four
months, June to September (a problem called seasonality), and the mean tourist
expenditure per capita was less than that of the main competitors (around €580 per trip)
(Ikkos & Lamprou, 2011; Kousounis, 2017b; Malkoutzis, 2017). Even though Greece
provided a high quality of services, its tourism industry still had problems regarding the

6. quality of the country’s infrastructure, such as airports, ports, marinas, and road network
(Ikkos & Lamprou, 2011). Catherine created a table with more recent information in which
she placed some of the most important financial data regarding the main traveler
nationalities who visit the country (see Table 1). The data were organized such that the
number of arrivals is in descending order, which facilitates the understanding of the figures.
Based on her assessment of the financial and statistical elements, the top seven nationalities
of visitors to Greece in 2017 were German, British, French, Italian, Dutch, American, and
Russian. The tourists of these nationalities also had the highest spending power (Kousounis,
2017c; Lamprou & Ikkos, 2017). Catherine also observed that the number of cruise arrivals
in 2016 and 2017 decreased, compared to the arrivals in previous years, due to security
issues at the Turkish destinations. The cruise professionals decided to avoid porting to
Turkey and consequently also to Greece, as it was at the intermediary station, to avoid the
threat of terrorist attack. Industry experts state that according to the latest available data,
Greece may see a further 20% slump in cruise arrivals in 2018 (Kousounis, 2017a; Maroulis
& Ikkos, 2016). Table 1. Key Economic Figures for Travelers in 2017 Arrivals Total
revenues per Average expenditure Daily expenditure per Duration of
SAGE SAGE Business Cases © Olga Kassotaki 2019 Greek Tourism Industry: Improving the
Tourist Product Page 4 of 10 (in million) EU countries market (in billion euros) per
traveler (in euros) traveler (in euros) stay (in days) Germany 3.706 United 2.553 689
67.8 10.2 3.002 Kingdom 2.065 688 77.8 8.8 France 1.420 0.994 700 81.0 8.6
Italy 1.441 0.753 523 62.6 8.4 Netherlands 947 Non-EU countries 0.64 676 75.1
9.0 United States 865 0.814 941 85.2 11.0 Russia 589 0.418 710 71.0 10.0
Switzerland 449 0.341 760 86.2 8.8 Australia 324 0.395 1218 95.2 12.8 Canada
198 Domestic 0.179 903 72.8 12.4 tourism in 3.369 1.060 2015 Cruise 315 78.8
4 tourism in 1.857 0.599 323 2014 Sources: Bank of Greece, INSETE Statistics
Catherine emphasized the fact that the tourism industry is quite a sensitive sector as it
presents fluctuations that depend on the global financial and geopolitical situation. In that
regard, government officials do not consider tourism as a sustainable source of economic
stability because the income it generates is unstable, highly volatile, and dependent on
various international conditions (Malkoutzis, 2017). In 2015, policymakers
SAGE SAGE Business Cases © Olga Kassotaki 2019 Greek Tourism Industry: Improving the
Tourist Product Page 5 of 10 and industry experts observed that the security unrest, since
2013, in the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkish destinations, which were traditionally the
main tourism competitors for Greece, turned the tourist stream towards Greece and
resulted in an unexpected boom for the Greek tourism industry (Maroulis & Ikkos, 2016).
Accordingly, it was also observed that the number of arrivals from Russia dropped, from
1.25 million people in 2014 to 512 thousand travelers in 2015, due to the sanctions
imposed on Russia by the Eureopean Union (EU) and also to the drop in oil prices—two key
elements that decreased the Russian GDP and, therefore, Russian family incomes (Maroulis
& Ikkos, 2016). In general, industry experts note that as Western countries have started to
overcome the global financial crisis, as the travel costs are constantly decreasing, and as the
standard of living of people has started to increase globally, greater numbers of people can
afford longer and more expensive travel for recreational purposes at foreign destinations

7. (BBC, n.d.; Thompson, 2017). Greek Tourism Subsectors Upon finishing her assessment of
the key financial figures of the tourism industry, Catherine reflected upon the subsectors of
the industry to get a better insight of the tourism environment. More specifically, she
observed that the industry is divided into several specific categories based on the
recreational needs of the visitors (PwC - REMACO, 2015). In 2015, one of the most
important subsectors of tourism was sun, sand, and sea (SS&S) tourism, which
corresponded to 60.1% of the incoming tourism. Other important subsectors were cultural
and religious (C&R) tourism, which corresponded to 13.4% of the market share, and city
tourism or city break (CB, a short holiday spent in a city), which corresponded to 4.7% of
the incoming tourism (Enterprise Greece, 2018; Maroulis & Ikkos, 2016). In addition to the
above subsectors of tourism, there were also some alternative subsectors, such as nautical
tourism (cruise and yachting); MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions)
tourism; and medical tourism (see Figure 2) (Ikkos & Koutsos, 2015). Figure 2. Subsectors
of Tourism Experts in the field of tourism emphasized the fact that during 2015 the main
reasons that travelers preferred Greece as their tourist destination to its competitors were
(a) because of the country’s attractiveness, with its beautiful sights, and (b) because it was
safer—considering the threat of terrorism—than competitors (Enterprise Greece, 2018;
Samitas et al., 2018). Catherine moved on to examine in more detail the available
information on the most important subsectors and alternative subsectors of tourism (see
Figure 2). She was interested in their strengths and weaknesses so that she could later
propose a course of action on how to improve the quality of the tourist product.
Traditional Way of Recreation—Sun, Sand, and Sea (SS&S) Catherine found that 85% of the
incoming SS&S visitors in 2015 belonged to medium and high social and educational classes
in their countries of origin. Most importantly, European visitors spent more money per trip
in comparison to other nationalities, while the lowest spending per trip came from travelers
of the nearby
SAGE SAGE Business Cases © Olga Kassotaki 2019 Greek Tourism Industry: Improving the
Tourist Product Page 6 of 10 countries who made short, economic trips. The travel
spending of visitors in SS&S was mostly in hospitality services (accommodation) and food
and beverage services (restaurants and bars), which comprised almost two-thirds of the
total tourism expenditure (Ikkos & Koutsos, 2015; Malkoutzis, 2017). Cultural and
Religious (C&R) Tourism In 2015, the number of C&R visitors was less than expected.
Tourism experts observed that this form of tourism was unexploited considering the rich
C&R traditions of Greece, which includes museums, archaeological sites, monuments,
churches, and monasteries, among others (Ikkos & Koutsos, 2015). Most importantly,
Greece has 18 World Heritage sites, placing the country in the top 10 internationally
(Enterprise Greece, 2018). During the year 2015, 29.3% of C&R visitors were from non-EU
countries (e.g., Russia, Japan, China), and their expenditure per trip was more than those of
other nationalities (Enterprise Greece, 2018). Experts in the field emphasize that, in general,
C&R travelers avoid making trips during peak seasons and prefer visiting places that are not
too crowded. This observation is vital as SS&S visitors prefer making trips during
summertime, whereas C&R visitors prefer wintertime; therefore, the above two subsectors
could be combined to become the source of income for Greeks throughout the year and to

8. help eliminate seasonality (Ikkos & Koutsos, 2015). City Break (CB) CB tourism refers to a
three- or four-day trip (on average), during which time travelers visit the major cities and
sample cultural and urban activities of the preferred destination. The host country can
benefit from this form of tourism throughout the year. For example, in 2015 the most
visited cities with a large number of visitors in Greece were Athens and Thessaloniki, which
attracted 65% and 11%, respectively, of the approximately 1.1 million CB travelers (Ikkos &
Koutsos, 2015). Industry experts observed that the reason for such a preference was that
these cities have all the necessary features to attract travelers of a high caliber, as they
combine intense urban life, important cultural heritage, and mild climate that allows short
breaks in nearby islands (Enterprise Greece, 2018). Medical Tourism With respect to the
medical tourism, it has been a fast growing subsector internationally during the last fifteen
years. Its two most important segments are the large outpatient segment (such as dental
care, eye surgery, and certain cosmetic procedures), and the much smaller inpatient
segment (including cardiovascular interventions and orthopedic procedures). Medical
tourism has created employment opportunities for diverse countries, which have become
important medical tourism destinations. On the one end, there are traditional markets, such
as United States, which provide high cost, high quality medical products and on the other
end, there are developing health markets, such as Turkey, which combine low cost of
medical services at good quality. Even though Greece has the potential to compete in this
rapidly growing market, as it has highly educated personnel and a competitive price
advantage, the country lacks the necessary infrastructure and collaborative agreements
with leading international medical institutions to take full advantage of this market
(McKinsey & Co, 2012). MICE Tourism Accordingly, MICE tourism is significant for
conference participants and for providing an excellent lead-in for other forms of tourism,
such as a CB. Even though companies restricted their budgets on MICE during the global
financial crisis, there is a general agreement that company spending on conferences,
meetings, and events has started to grow again ( CBI, 2018; Davidson, 2014). According to
the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), which specializes in the field
of international conferences, the five most visited countries by number of meetings
organized in 2016 were the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, and Spain
(ICCA Statistics, 2016). The three most important sectors in terms of topics presented were
pharmaceutical-medical, financial-banking, and technological sectors (Davidson, 2014). In
the case of
SAGE SAGE Business Cases © Olga Kassotaki 2019 Greek Tourism Industry: Improving the
Tourist Product Page 7 of 10 Greece, however, the main problem with this subsector lies
in the fact that the country lacks the appropriate infrastructure, such as large conference
centers and meeting facilities that can host large-scale, globally attractive events
(Enterprise Greece, 2018). Nautical Tourism Finally, in previous years, with the exception
of 2016 and 2017, during which security issues in the Turkish destinations resulted in the
decrease of cruise arrivals, Greece has been experiencing a boom in cruise numbers and
visitors, following the recently implemented regulatory changes that lifted cabotage rules
for marine cruises, which existed to protect the domestic shipping industry (Enterprise
Greece, 2018). This decision has liberalized the cruise market in 2012, as it allowed non-

9. European cruise ships to embark from Greek ports, and use Greece either as a homeport or
as a destination. Cruise experts state that an important factor of the country in this
subsector is that Greece has an extensive coastline, a large number of available ports, with
most of them being close to multiple attractions, and small distances between ports and
destinations within the country. As in the case of other subsectors, the main problem in the
Greek nautical tourism lies in the quality of its infrastructure (Enterprise Greece, 2018; GDP
editing team, 2012). Competition For the purposes of evaluating competition to the Greek
tourism industry, Catherine considered external and internal competition separately, as
discussed in the following sections. External Competition Catherine next examined the
framework of the external competition for Greek tourism. She found that in 2015 a very
important factor that could ensure the competitiveness of the Greek tourist product on the
international market was the level of the imposed taxes on the tourist product (Enterprise
Greece, 2018; SETE Positions, 2015). In that year, tax experts highlighted the fact that
Greece was the least competitive country with respect to the overall tax burden, as
compared with the main competitors, which were Turkey, Italy, Croatia, Spain, and Cyprus
(see Table 2) (Maroulis & Ikkos, 2016; Petrakis, 2015; SETE Positions, 2015). Table 2.
General Index of Competitiveness With Respect to the Overall Tax Burden (1–100) Greece
Italy Spain Turkey Croatia Cyprus 42 49 60 69 81 84 Source: TMS S.A. certified
public accountants. More specifically, Greece had the highest tax rates (including corporate
tax, taxes on goods and services, income tax, and property tax), which negatively affected
the competitiveness of the Greek tourist product. These high tax rates were reflected in
higher prices and tax disincentives, which impeded the healthy growth of the industry
(taxes imposed on investments), an extremely complicated and frequently changing tax
system, and an unstable economic environment, which had deteriorated as a consequence
of the long-term financial crisis of the country (Antoniades & Palinginis, 2015; IOBE & BCG,
2014; Maroulis & Ikkos, 2016; PwC, 2018; Thompson, 2017). Internal Competition Finally,
with respect to the internal competition, Cathrine noticed that tourism should not be
considered as a single industry but rather a collection of interrelated industries, such as the
hospitality industry, agricultural industry, retail and wholesale industries, and construction
industry, which sell products to tourists as well as to a range of other customers (Tohidy
Ardahaey, 2011). She also observed that internal competitors in the tourism industry make
an impact on the country’s economy in multiple ways. They generate employment, supply
goods
SAGE SAGE Business Cases © Olga Kassotaki 2019 Greek Tourism Industry: Improving the
Tourist Product Page 8 of 10 and services, sell products and services, create enterprises
and new employment opportunities, contribute to national income through taxes, and
invest in infrastructure (Lemma, 2014). In general, the contribution of tourism to a
country’s GDP is direct (through hospitality services), indirect (through other sectors, such
as agricultural sector, tourism investments, as well as government spending), and induced
(through the spending of those who are employed in the tourism sector). The indirect
impact of tourism on GDP is twice as great as the direct one, especially in developed
countries. This means that tourism is important not only for its direct contribution, but also
for other economic activities and other sectors of the economy. In that respect, in the case of

10. Greece, Spain, or Italy, which have developed economies, the tourist product is
complementary to other industries, such as construction, agriculture, banking, trade, retail,
and wholesale. In employment, on the global level, tourism professionals create more jobs
than the combined total in the automotive industry, the chemical manufacturing sector, the
banking sector, the mining sector, and the higher education sector. Global tourism
contributes to five times the employment of the automotive industry, five times the jobs of
the chemical industry, two times the employment of the communication sector, and about
as many jobs as the financial services sector (Lemma, 2014). In the case of Greece, the
main sectors that mostly benefited from tourism in 2016 were trade, real estate, and
banking. In the hospitality industry, internal competitors provided hospitality services, such
as accommodation services; food and beverage services; travel agency services; and air,
maritime, and land transportation services (Ikkos & Koutsos, 2017). The most important
subsector of the hospitality industry included individuals and corporate entities (foreign or
domestic), which provided accommodation services to national and international visitors.
These entities were professionals, who provided traditional bed and breakfast services and
hotel rooms for rent (9,730 hotels) (SETE, 2016); individuals, who used their property for a
medium term – a season (such as villas for a summer), or a year (Bellos, 2018); and
individuals or corporate entities that used their properties (such as holiday cottages,
apartments, homestays, hostel beds and hotel rooms) for a short term through online
renting or leasing platforms, such as Airbnb (Roussanoglou, 2017). Catherine observed
that in 2016 professionals of the hospitality industry in Greece were providing, on average,
low to medium quality housing to travelers, while their main objective was mostly to meet
the seasonal demand of visitors for accommodation. The typical hotel firms were small
(annual revenues 2.1–4.8 million euros), with competitive companies being generally
smaller than non-competitive ones (PwC, 2016). Nonetheless, during the recent years, many
accommodation providers have started to prioritize sustainability and quality, searching for
accreditation, awards, or EU certification or other recognized and approved labels and
standards, as well as improving their relative position. For example, in 2016, approximately
240 hotels in Greece held awards or certifications regarding sustainability, such as
Travelife, EU Ecolabel, and Green Globe (Pappas, 2016), while, from 2009 to 2013, hotel
companies showed an improvement in competitiveness, with more than 67% retaining or
improving their relative position and moving to a higher category (PwC, 2016). Finally,
Catherine noticed that the domestic and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tourism
industry, especially in the hospitality sector, in 2016 was 3.2 billion euros (Papadoyiannis &
Roussanoglou, 2017). Still, industry experts stress that Greece needs investments worth at
least 6 billion euros per year in accommodation and infrastructure in order to increase the
number of tourist arrivals and tourism revenues (Nikas, 2018). Now What? Upon
finishing her assessment of the Greek tourism industry, Catherine reflected on the strengths
and weaknesses of this industry and what actions and policies should be implemented to
improve the tourism sector. She believed that in assessing the structural problems of the
sector, she could devise a strategic plan to help government officials improve the tourist
product. To develop her suggestions, Catherine contemplated a few key questions: How can
the country improve the quality of the tourist product? What are the necessary steps to

11. achieve stable growth rates and a prosperous future of the Greek tourism industry? These
questions ultimately link back to the bigger issue: How can policymakers, along with
industry experts, promote the Greek tourist brand name locally and globally for Greek
tourism to become synonym with high quality and safety?
SAGE SAGE Business Cases © Olga Kassotaki 2019 Greek Tourism Industry: Improving the
Tourist Product Page 9 of 10 Further Reading Getz, D. , & Page, S. J. (2016). Progress and
prospects for event tourism research. Tourism Management, 52, 593–631. References
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zqbgnbk/revision/1 Bellos, I. (2018). Greek properties attract many foreigners. Retrieved
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Tourist Product Page 10 of 10 Kousounis, S. (2017a). Cruise tourism to shrink 15 percent
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