Thessaly: Innovation, experience, digitalization lead to lengthening of tourist season

The impacts of climate change on tourism are not limited only to challenges but also create new opportunities for innovation. Through pioneering experiences, the tourism sector is moving towards digitalization and renewal of its services. These issues were at the center of the discussion held within the framework of the 1st Forum for Thessaly.

The fact that climate change ultimately contributed to innovation actions in tourism, through unprecedented experiences and pushed for digitalization and renewal of its services was at the center of the section entitled “Impacts on agricultural production and the food chain” of the 1st Forum for Thessaly.

Taking the floor first, Vasiliki Koutsoukou, general manager of Tourism Policy & Development, pointed out that the state must continue investing in human resources, as it was proven that tourism people made a catalytic contribution during the pandemic.

In this context, he stated that it was imperative to take some measures to shield short-term rentals, to introduce operational specifications for the spaces, and generally introduce a control framework beyond the tax aspect. As he added, the next important point of the recent bill is the environmental classification criteria for waste management and resource and energy saving, an action that will have the “tree” as its symbol.

For her, tourism is the first sector to be affected in the event of natural disasters, and for this reason, there is a need to create infrastructure with programs from the Recovery Fund, while specifically for Thessaly, an effort is being made by the Ministry of Tourism in the field of promotion with targeted advertising campaigns to reverse the image of the region.

Additionally, according to Ms. Koutsoukou, in the “Tourism for All” program there will be increased amounts for the promotion of the mountainous nature of the region, while in relation to the ski resorts, new activities will be introduced with the aim of remaining open 12 months a year, with the parallel utilization of the tourist accommodations within them. She also focused in particular on the need for actions to prolong tourism.

For his part, Theodoros Tzoumas, Mayor of Skiathos, stressed that in recent years great emphasis has been placed on the promotion of tourism and the island's particularities, with half a million euros being spent specifically on a campaign abroad. Through this, its trails were promoted, and its cultural monuments and gastronomy were highlighted.

For Mr. Tzoumas, moreover, the bad weather “Daniel” was “a big lesson”, as at that time the island had 50,000 visitors, but the local bodies managed and returned within two weeks, while the summer season was underway and they would have risked financial disaster. In this context, with funding from the Municipality, a programmatic agreement is underway for a plan to inform entrepreneurs and citizens about natural phenomena, which will be communicated to each entrepreneur, who in turn will inform his customers about how they should react to natural disasters.

Additionally, Mr. Tzoumas also spoke about the digitization of the characteristic elements of Skiathos, such as its paths, monuments, and local products, as well as the welcome of Skiathos author A. Papadiamantis to visitors through a digital application, in parallel with a digital experiential tour program that will start in the summer.

The steps for transforming Volos into a "smart" port were outlined by Socrates Anagnostou, CEO of the Volos Port Authority, who pointed out that actions have been taken in this direction, such as the use of LED lamps, the use of photovoltaics, while he also spoke of another photovoltaic that is being prepared, with a power of 1.23 MW, with a benefit of 300-400,000 euros for the port.

He also mentioned that there is a process underway to reduce pollutants, through the transfer of some activities to another pier so that the city is not affected, while digitalization is now taking place in containers so that tons of paper are not spent every year and resources are not lost.

He also spoke about the need to take steps to bring cruise ships back to the port of Volos, while also mentioning the importance of more intensive tourist development of the Pelion “train”, which can become a pole of attraction for visitors from cruise ships.

Georgios Giannakis, Owner & CEO of Explore DMC & Sky High Ballooning Greece, spoke about the experience of tourism close to nature through hot air balloons, saying that this is something that can be achieved through the expansion of experience tourism.

Based on what he stated in his presentation, the important thing is for the agencies to understand the advertising that is done through this process, the way to utilize this promotion, and the management of the psychology of the people with actions that will inspire and motivate them. One such experience is the hot air balloons, which made their appearance last September in Trikala, Karditsa, and Kalambaka, with great public participation and social media coverage, an idea that is expected to continue in the coming months.

The discussion was moderated by the journalist of the newspaper “To Vima”, Dimitris Elafropoulos.

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