Strengths To The Tourism Industry In Greece Tourism Essay

Strengths To The Tourism Industry In Greece Tourism Essay Secondly, Greece has a family-friendly environment, making it ideal for tourists of all nationalities and creeds. One of the factors that contribute to this is its hot, dry Mediterranean climate, with an average of 290 days of sunshine a year. The capital city, Athens, has an average of only seven days of rain during summer and daytime temperatures in the low thirties  [4]  . These ideal climate conditions make it more accessible for tourists to experience the plethora of outdoor activities that are available, from swimming at Greeces picturesque beaches and yachting, to more rigorous activities such as mountain climbing and long-distance trekking to see some of the countrys most ancient landmarks and artefacts in the most inconspicuous locations. Finally, Greece has a sense of individuality and uniqueness to it. In comparison with other European countries that may claim to have a long history, Greece has one of the oldest civilisations and cultures outside of the Middle East. Infact, many historians perceive Greece as the cradle of Western civilisation, as well as the origin of democracy, the Olympic games, Western literature, political science, Western philosophy, and major scientific and mathematical principles  [5]  . This is validated by the fact that 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites  [6]  can be found around the country. Therefore, many foreigners see the countrys rich culture and history as a major attraction that intrigues them and inspires them to visit Greece. However, amidst the current strengths in tourism industry are some weaknesses and barriers to the tourism industry development. One of the strengths mentioned earlier has also proven to be a weakness: climate, or more precisely, seasonality problems. Mediterranean climates are characterised by hot and dry summers, and also have mild and wet winters. The peak season for travel to Greece is May-September, which is further supported by the fact that an overwhelming 75% of all tourists who travel to Greece travel during this period  [7]  . That means only a paltry 25% of the tourists travel between October-April. Although the cooler months in Greece dont have sub-zero temperatures like its other Eastern European neighbours, the large amount of rain the country receives during this period serves as a deterrent for people who enjoy outdoor activities and sightseeing. Therefore, the revenue levels of a lot of local businesses that rely heavily on tourism decrease substantially during th is period of time. Another major weakness is the lack of public transport infrastructure and accessibility. While countries such as Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom and Germany have reputable public transport systems; it is a hassle to travel to some of the most majestic and beautiful parts of Greece. This is because the country as very spread out and the population density, when compared to its European counterparts, are very low, ranked 115th in the world with 85.7 people per square kilometre  [8]  . A lot of people may see the public transport infrastructure as a negative, because they want to travel between locations with minimal complications. Other major weaknesses and barriers include marketing and management. Although countries like France and Germany have managed to modernise themselves despite their long histories and have made themselves more cosmopolitan and attractive to younger people, Greece has, to a large extent, chosen to remain stuck in the past and relied heavily on its 3500+ year history to promote its tourism industry. This is an obstacle when it comes to targeting potential tourists who may not have the same level of appreciation for things related to historical matters. In other words, Greece tourism promotion and marketing hasnt evolved with the times, leaving potential tourists with a fixed stereotype of the country and hence little opportunity for surprise. The weaknesses and barriers to the tourism industry development lead to an issue that may benefit the Greek tourism industry as a whole: what are the opportunities to enhance the tourisms economic contribution? Well, as one of the weaknesses mentioned earlier, there is an opportunity to improve the public transportation. An improvement in this area could lead to a vast increase in tourism for the Greek Islands off the mainland of Greece, and overall, an increase in tourism for Greece. Places such as Mykonos, Crete, Rhodes and Kassos could all experience a large inflation in tourist numbers, hence leading to increased revenues and profits for the local businesses in those respective areas. Continued improvement in infrastructure and technology will also go a long way towards enhancing the tourisms economic contribution. Giving the country a modern appeal will help to counteract the weakness mentioned earlier about Greeces outdated marketing techniques in the area of tourism promotion. Finally, a decrease in accommodation prices may lead to an influx of tourists. As we know, not everyone can afford to stay in four or five-star accommodation. In 2009, Athens was named the city with the 10th most expensive hotel prices in the world, with the average hotel in Athens costing AUD $321 a night  [9]  . This price is deemed to be very expensive for people in the middle and lower-class income brackets and may deter them from visiting Greece in the first place. Affordable accommodation may be able to break the mindset that Greece is an expensive place to travel. There are various threats that need to be overcome, in order to enhance Greeces reputation as a safe and hospitable tourist destination. The first issue is riots. Major riots occurring in December 2008  [10]  and more recently, May 2010  [11]  , have tarnished Greeces reputation as a safe destination. This has had adverse effect on the tourism industry, with pre-bookings being down 8% for the peak-season in comparison to last year. With tourism being absolutely pivotal to Greeces economy, equating to 17% of its Gross Domestic Product, any sharp decline in this amount could be detrimental to the Greek economy on a whole. Also related to the issue of safety are two terrorist attacks that occurred last year  [12]  13. Environmental pollution is another threat to the tourism industry that needs to be confronted. This problem emanates back to the 1970s  [14]  , when rapid industrialisation began to take place in Greece. This industrialisation culminated in serious air pollution in Athens during the 1980s. Smog (carbon monoxide) and exhaust fumes from cars became prevalent in Athens and even resulted in 87 industries and 73 factories being order to cease production  [15]  , due to the governments concerns over the effects the pollution was having on peoples respiratory systems. The widespread ramifications of this problem dont stop there. Various species of mammals, reptiles, birds and freshwater fish are on the brink of extinction because of failure to minimise the pollution5  [16]  . The issue of political intervention appears as a threat to the tourist industry. The recent riots in May 2010 were the result of protests against the governments austerity decisions to combat the countrys large sovereign debt levels  [17]  18. Countries with political instability and countries that impose austere decisions, which are likely to lead to civil unrest, make the country less attractive to foreigners and hence will find it very difficult to attract potential tourists. So far, we have discussed the current strengths, weakness and barriers of the Greek tourism industry, as well as potential benefits and threats that could either enhance or decimate the industry. Combining the main points discussed in this research, we can extrapolate implications for specific strategies of industry, government and the community to enhance the economic impacts of tourism in Greece. In our opinion, we believe there are three main implications. Firstly, there should be a strategy to consolidate on the profitable and competitive Greek tourism industry, both in the short-term and more importantly, long-term future. Possible techniques to achieve this objective include improving the marketing and promotion, aim to increase levels of tourism and try to promote different types of tourism to appeal to a wider variety of people. Improvements in these areas should lead to a considerable increase in revenues and profits for businesses in Greece that rely on tourism and will allow Greece to maintain strong percentages of tourism in its GDP (as mentioned earlier, 17% of GDP in the Greek economy is derived from the tourism industry). Secondly, there should be an increasing need to cultivate and maintain Greek tourist destinations and attractions, which thereby will lead to economic prosperity in the future. This strategy is concerned with improving the environment, public transportation infrastructure, general infrastructure and decreasing pollution. By improving the standard of public facilities, making transport more accessible for tourists and improving legislation to decrease pollution, not only will it appeal to more potential tourists, but furthermore, Greece will develop a reputation as a nation that cares for the general wellbeing of people and will take the respective measures to make a tourists experience as enjoyable and pleasant as possible. Finally, there should be a strategy for improving the general satisfaction of tourists. This may be achieved through improving general services and also promoting different types of tourism for the people of varying economic backgrounds. For example, the Greek tourism industry should promote certain holiday packages for the higher-income earners who may want to experience a bit more extravagance and luxury, packages for families with small children, packages for those who are on a budget and so on. Certain types of lifestyles (attributed to the amount of money the tourist is willing to spend) should be targeted to achieve this objective.

An Analysis of Foot Soldiers of the Revolutionary Army

Pyeong G. Lim Dr. Christian History 1305 March 21, 2013 Summary of â€Å"Foot Soldiers of the Revolutionary Army† In the essay â€Å"Foot Soldiers of the Revolutionary Army† by Gary B. Nash, the authors of the book tell of a Private Joseph Plumb Martin that kept a diary that details the life and hardships that the soldiers endured. Martin writes, â€Å"The army was now not only starved but naked. The greatest part were not only shirtless and barefoot but destitute of all other clothing, especially blankets. (Gary Nash 124) The blacks were involved given the chance to receive freedom, which did not follow through completely. Although the colonies needed men for the army, these two simple sentences exposed the truth that people didn’t know at the time and even now. The leadership of the army knew this would be the case, which is the main reason that the terms of enlistment were so short during the war unlike the minimal 8 years contract in the army now.Although th e life in the army improved the soldiers had to endure such environment as, â€Å"shivering with cold upon bare floors without a blanket to cover them, calling for fire, for water, for suitable food, and for medicines- calling in vain. † Having to withstand all these misfortune, the soldiers were anything but humble in their conception of rights. The soldiers warned the generals of desertion if they were not properly taken care of, so the â€Å"severest Punishment† was placed to counter threat the soldiers.However, this did not last as â€Å"even in Washington’s handpicked Life Guard, eight soldiers deserted during the war. † As the war dragged out, eventually, Washington reopened the Continental army to free blacks with congressional approval. Slaves were still forbidden, yet five hundred free black men served in the war. It started with Massachusetts than to Rhode Island. Even with the blacks joining, Mother Nature did not see lightly of them, â€Å"By early 1778, the regiments were close to disintegration, their pay in arrears, uniforms tattered, and ranks thinned by disease. In February, all blacks were able to join the army with the consent of their owners in exchange for freedom. The white men found this proposal too good to turn down since the slaves would relieve them of army duty. The war continued with victory earned by the â€Å"Black Regiement who stromed through the moat and heavily fortified redoubts. † White men and blacks had hardship through out the war, but above all, despite all the blacks who were involved in the war, â€Å"only one third of the former slaves survived to taste freedom as civilians. †

Social Exchange Theory

Reaction Paper #2 The Social Exchange Theory was very interesting for me to research as I was not familiar with it before this class. I learned about the basic parts of the theory, how it can pertain to marriage and divorce, and how it can help me in parenting. Self-interest is the main focus of this particular theory and can be described as a utilitarian way of thinking. After more research, I learned that utilitarian thinking in family studies is concerned with achieving outcomes that are most valued (White & Klein, 2008). Within this theory, the actors are most concerned with rewards and costs. Rewards are considered anything that is perceived as beneficial to the person’s interest, and the costs are just the inverse of the rewards. As a past math teacher, this was analytically easy for me to understand, but seemed very selfish to me. To me, someone who based their relationships and choices on this theory did it for their own personal profit and maximization. Even if there are no rewards, the actors will make whatever choices are necessary to minimize the costs (Chibucos & Leite, 2005). I did not fully accept and understand the social exchange theory until I read the additional assigned readings. One of these articles was written by Susan Sprecher. She completed a longitudinal study on the social exchange theory within dating couples (Chibucos & Leite, 2005). As I examined her findings, I realized that most individuals make choices based on rewards and costs, and I sometimes refer to them as pros and cons of a decision. It did not seem so selfish, but more of a well thought out plan. I also realized that I had made choices as described by the social exchange theory many times in my life, specifically concerning my long-term relationships. I chose to get married in 1990 because the benefits outweighed the costs of marriage. Yes, I even made a list. The benefits included companionship of the one I loved and trusted, the option to start a family and have children, and begin building lifelong relationship with the person that I had chosen to grown old with. I knew there were going to be costs to a marriage, but as a young adult, I did not realize all of them. The costs, in my mind, included a loss of independence, putting our money together, accountability, and maybe some contention. It seemed to me that my benefits were greater than any costs, and I was willing and excited to make my vows. As time went on, children began arriving into our home. It seemed that as the stresses of family life increased, so did our marital contention. Somewhere during our fifth year of marriage, I made a list of the benefits and costs, or pros and cons as it seemed at the time, as to whether or not to continue my marriage. The benefits were about the same, but the costs were increasing annually. Finances were very tight, my husband chose to spend a lot of time away from home, anger problems were escalating, and being a mother of two children was hard without help from my husband. Nonetheless, the benefits seemed to outweigh the costs, because I knew divorce would be more costly. By the eighteenth year of our marriage, my marriage had taken a terrible turn. A private investigator informed me that my husband was living with a 22-year-old and had been for over three months. I had five children, relied solely on my husband’s salary for support, and did not want the identity of being â€Å"divorced. † But I think the devastation of discovering his romantic relationship, the length of his infidelity, and the fact that he made no attempts to resolve matters, made my benefits and costs equation easy to solve. My benefits were to teach my daughters that this was unacceptable behavior and should never be tolerated and to teach my sons that there are dire consequences to such choices as a husband. I almost felt that my agency had been taken away as I had to choose to divorce my husband. Now three years later, I can examine that divorce equation and see that I made the best choice for my family, and that without even realizing it, I was using the social exchange theory to resolve a great issue in my life. This theory is more easily seen within large issues to me, what about my everyday parenting? I have watched for the past few weeks how I can help my children within these guidelines. With some careful thought, I helped one of our children decide the best place to sit on the school bus. If he chose one seat, he could sit with more popular kids, but he stood a higher chance of getting in trouble for misconduct. If he chose a less desirable seat, he could stay out of trouble and befriend a new student who recently moved into town, therefore, making a new friend. With some discussion, he was able to analyze on his own which seat would be more beneficial to him. Another time I was able to use this knowledge within parenting was in helping my daughter with her math teacher. My daughter dislikes math anyway, and sees no longterm reason to learn it. She was assigned a specific teacher at school and was not doing especially well, per her grades. My daughter disliked the teacher stating that she was too strict and assigned too much homework. Her friends told her that she did not need the specific math class to graduate and encouraged her to change classes. Using the social exchange theory, we not only discussed the importance of math, but how learning to get along with this math teacher could greatly benefit her grades. We encouraged her to talk to her teacher about her difficulties and to request some clarifications about specific concepts. My daughter chose to try it out because during our discussion she could see the benefits, although, she was not completely convinced. She went to her teacher, worked out some differences, and her grades reflect the benefits. I now more fully appreciate the opportunity I have had to research, analyze, and give a presentation on the social exchange theory. It increased my knowledge and gave me the opportunity to reflect on some past decisions I have made in my life. I can see that this theory is not applicable to all choices, but it is helpful to know that it is an option when dealing with difficult decisions pertaining to relationships. I can see why some would consider it reductionist (Piercy class notes, September 29, 2011). I think I would feel that a therapist was not taking my personal issues seriously if they were reduced to just costs or benefits. With this in mind, a marriage and family therapist might not want to use this framework when working with major relationship issues. When the social exchange theory was further explained in class, I was able to grasp the thought of being under benefitted and over benefitted in a relationship (Piercy class notes, September 29, 2011). I do not think that any relationship is ever equal, but if we think about how and/or if each person involved benefits, we can help each person better relate to one another. This might be a better way that a therapist could use this theory in a counseling setting. As Dr. Piercy said, â€Å"Satisfaction and commitment are more important than equity† (Piercy class notes, September 29, 2011).

Comparing The Death Of A Salesman And A Raisin The Sun

The battle for living a wealthy life and having more than enough to support your family is something that has always been tremendously significant in the American culture. The Death of a Salesman and A Raisin the Sun are two tales about this struggle. Both stories are about two American families that portray the common way of life around the 1940’s and the struggles that come with it. A Raisin in the Sun is about a black family living in Chicago, and Death of a Salesman is about a white family living in New York. Both families seem to have many problems that set the apart from others around them. Even though two different authors wrote these plays, they have much more in common than you would expect and I am going to compare and contrast them. First I am going to talk about the similarities and differences between Walter Younger from A Raisin in the Sun and Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman. I think both authors are trying to elevate the level of the common man. There is something heroic and noble about what both characters have done for their families. At one point you dislike both characters and at another point you feel really bad for them. A similarity between Willy and Walter is that they both have high hopes and big dreams that both get crushed. Walter has dreams for his liquor store and they get crushed when his friend runs away with his money. Willy has high hopes for his sons, but to him their failure is very hurtful. A difference is that Walter seems to be moreShow MoreRelatedComparing the Plays, A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman902 Words   |  4 PagesIn history there have been an uncountable amount of plays made, but there have only been two that fully captured the American dream like A Raisin in the sun and Death of a Salesman. In both plays the protagonist is trying to achieve the American dream, but it is near impossible when neither of them has the respect of their superiors or the people around them. It is amazing that two different plays can so closely parallel each other when they have a time gap of over 10 years. Both Miller and LorraineRead More Comparing Light and Growth in A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman2358 Words   |  10 PagesLight and Growth in A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, both authors use motifs of light and growth within their settings to convey messages about the intrinsic values and potentiality of their characters. A Raisin in the Sun begins with a faint little light, filtering through the kitchen window. Its not much of a light, but it is successfully kindled by Lena Younger to keep her little plantRead More Comparing the American Dream in Millers Death of a Salesman and Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun3400 Words   |  14 PagesComparing the Destructive American Dream in Millers Death of a Salesman and Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun America is a land of dreamers. From the time of the Spanish conquistadors coming in search of gold and everlasting youth, there has been a mystique about the land to which Amerigo Vespucci gave his name. To the Puritans who settled its northeast, it was to be the site of their â€Å"city upon a hill† (Winthrop 2). They gave their home the name New England, to signify their hope for aRead MoreMarketing Management 14th Edition Test Bank Kotler Test Bank173911 Words   |  696 Pagesbusiness market B) global market C) nonprofit market D) consumer market E) exclusive market Answer: C Page Ref: 9 Objective: 2 Difficulty: Easy 19) Which of the following is true of business markets? A) Buyers are usually not skilled at comparing competitive product offerings. B) Buyers have limited purchasing power. C) Property rights, language, culture, and local laws are the most important concerns. D) Products sold in such markets are usually highly standardized. E) Business buyersRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesConflict 375 SKILL LEARNING 376 Interpersonal Conflict Management 376 Mixed Feelings About Conflict 376 Diagnosing the Type of Interpersonal Conflict 378 Conflict Focus 378 Conflict Source 380 Selecting the Appropriate Conflict Management Approach 383 Comparing Conflict Management and Negotiation Strategies 386 Selection Factors 386 Resolving Interpersonal Confrontations Using the Collaborative Approach A General Framework for Collaborative Problem Solving 391 The Four Phases of Collaborative Problem Solving