Forums » The Tourism Debate

• Emma Wood

  

  • 46 posts
   

  August 7, 2011 3:23:50 PM EEST

  Something is going seriously wrong somewhere with Corfu tourism. I have just got off the telephone with my brother, who also gave me a message from my sister, that they aren't coming to Corfu this year. Why? The flights were disproportionately expensive and the indepedent accommodation of such poor quality that Corfu presented itself as an unattractive package. My sister searched for flights and accommodation for 6 people on a budget of 2,000 GBP, that's excluding food and drinks. Didn't want all inclusive, she disagrees with the way that it destroys local economies. Other than Kavos that was disgracefully publicising accommodation for 2 GBP per night, there was nothing unless it was in the middle of nowhere. She has booked Faro in Portugal for half the price of Corfu and better quality accommodation. My brother has decided to go to Menorca with his financee. It's not a question of whether they have the money or not, its a question of what people are prepared to pay. There's a threshold between what is considered reasonable and what isn't. For a standard flight service I think that the threshold for a return flight is 199 GBP and that over 200 GBP people lose interest, by the time it gets to 300 GBP I am being told it has reached turn off point. Many people are complaining about the all inclusive packages dominating the market and removing choice from the consumer by force.
• darren emery

  

  • 1 posts
   

  August 20, 2011 2:22:11 PM EEST

  That is so sad to hear Emma, i love Corfu no matter the price, me and my wife when we were together went to Corfu mant times, and now am on my own i would love to move there ! Lets hope things do get better, its also very sad to hear what is going on in the rest of Greece it seems the Euro which i lkie very much has caused alot of trouble and heartbreak for every day Greeks !
• Emma Wood

  

  • 46 posts
   

  August 20, 2011 5:47:35 PM EEST

  I think many would agree that Corfu is a beautiful island and worth the visit, but in terms of competitive tourism the prices don't meant sense in relation to other destinations...Portugal is equal distance how come its half the price? For those that already know Corfu and have fallen in love with it money may be no object for some, but when the island needs to attract first timers, how can it fair well when you go to lastminute.com and its promoting Kavos for 4 Euros a night. So a flight is 200-300 Euros return, but the accommodation is less than 50 Euros for a fortnight. Of course it is going to look as if the island has lost the plot. Tourism here seems to have a split personality which has become even more confused by a disparity in charges. Its indicative of lack of strategy and communication by the Department of Tourism. It doesn't work when tourism tries to be all things to all people, it ends up a mess.
• Spiros Salvanos

  

  • 2 posts
   

  August 22, 2011 1:17:43 PM EEST

  Well, I grew up in Corfu when tourism was just starting to take off. We didn't have 1mill. visitors per season, in fact we didn't even have half of them! But those few visitors did leave a lot more money to the island and the local community than the thousands that we have today. It is a question of the quality of the services provided. The mistakes did happen at that time - back in the 80's, when big tour operators decided to make Corfu a "mass-tourism" destination. That was a big mistake, because Corfu's beauty and morphology is not suited for that kind of tourism. The locals were promised a lot of money - we had to build quickly thousands of hotels and apartments to cater the big waves of tourists in a period when charter flights started to operate from major European airports. The luck of the Corfiot tourism fell into wrong hands – inexperienced people that did have a clue about tourism at all who were only seeking to make “quick money”. Together with corrupt and inadequate politicians, they have given us the results that we see today.
  My mother, who’s Norwegian, told me that when she came to Corfu for the first time, back in the 70’s, the villages where whitewashed and clean, the locals smiled and where friendly and everything was running in a relaxing pace. She misses the Barbati beach that she knew back then, with the 100 years old olive trees right next to the beach….. We all know what has happened there.
  Even so, I still believe that Corfu is one of the most beautiful islands in the world (and I have travelled a lot!) and there’s still time to change everything. The question is if we, the local people, are willing to make these changes.
  
• Emma Wood

  

  • 46 posts
   

  August 22, 2011 1:47:46 PM EEST

  All-inclusive holidays have been a death penalty for Corfu. I am receiving fresh reports from the north coast of UK tour operators issuing ultimatums to hotels in the region 'go all inclusive for next year or we will drop you'. All-inclusive kills local economies, offers visitors little or no appreciate of the place they have visited and eliminates choice. What is needed is a year round scheduled flight operator to blow this apart and fight back against the increasing dominance of all-inclusive. All year round flights would mean that the tourist season could function 12 months per year, ignite interest in Easter for example and attract visitors to enjoy the spring and autumn climates and landscapes and pull the island away from cheap nasty all-inclusive. OK there will always be those that prefer it, but all-inclusive should not be allowed to dominate. You are right about inexperienced corrupt people lining their pockets from the tourism sector. Strategy, what strategy? How could there be a strategy, when the people that have held these positions have no formal training, no experience of tourism and marketing and even worse they work part time, because their full time jobs are actually in other completely unrelated professions. I have seen them in action, arriving late and then having something that resembles a chit chat with no action plan at the end of it. It's an outrage, a disgrace that the island has been damaged by greed and incompetence.
• Spiros Salvanos

  

  • 2 posts
   

  August 22, 2011 2:34:10 PM EEST

  Emma, I totaly agree with you. This is the only way that we can changes things. But who listens? We, young tourism proffesionals, have only a small chance to change all this - or I would rather say that they will not let us change things. People on the island are in a bad economical shape and they think that the only out of this crisis is the easy way. And this is something that big tour operators are taking advantage of.
• Emma Wood

  

  • 46 posts
   

  August 22, 2011 3:09:54 PM EEST

  Spiros in my view it requires a combination of defiance by those who want change. We need to voice our views publicly. I shall be sending this forum to the GNTO. It's time they read how people feel on the ground. In addition market forces make a difference. This is why I have been lobbying so hard for people to sign the Monarch petition and to give a bit of extra time to talk in the forum called Monarch Direct Winter Flights. All this information is sent directly to their management. If Monarch could launch scheduled services all year round, this would start to make a difference. Do you know other like minded travel agents? Could you call them and ask them to write in this forum. I intend to circulate this forum to the GNTO every week. Emma
• Alex Christou

  

  • 1 posts
   

  August 23, 2011 11:41:41 AM EEST

  Hi everybody!
  
  Spiros called me yesterday and told me about this forum. Here's a short introduction of what I believe should be done in Corfu:
  
  Corfu (as we all know!) is one of the most beautiful islands of Greece and was popular for vacations among wealthy Europeans more than a hundred years ago. In the 1960’s and 1970’s the tourism boom really began and tourism to Corfu continued to increase steadily until the end of the century. This touristic development brought a lot of wealth to the island and its inhabitants but, on the downside, also destroyed some of the most beautiful spots of the island and threatens to destroy the rest, due to the greed of many and the lack of planning and regulation.
  Fortunately, more and more people are realizing that the old model of sun, sea, sand and sex is not working any more. You can get all those things at other places for a cheaper price and with much better service! What Corfu does have and is unique is its environment, natural, cultural and historical. What we need to do is first of all protect the environment and the unique nature and landscape of Corfu, and develop alternative modes of tourism that promote rather than destroy the beauty of the island. Corfu with its evergreen countryside is ideal for walking, cycling and horse riding. Also, more and more people come to Corfu to meditate, or to spend their holidays at an organic farm. People can visit wineries and oil presses to experience how local products were (and sometime still are) made.
  These are only some of the things we should be promoting!
  
  Last year I launched a website called Green Corfu (www.greencorfu.com) that aims to get together all kinds of efforts in the direction of sustainable, alternative tourism and local products, as well as info, photos and videos of the natural beauty of the island and anything else that fits in this philosophy.
  
  Please have a look at the website and tell me what you think. I would really like to work together with likewise minded people towards another kind of tourism on Corfu
  
• Dronz Arigho

  

  • 5 posts
   

  January 29, 2012 8:35:38 PM EET

  Emma,

  I read with interest the comments made by contributors to this forum with some dismay and sadness.

   

   Today Sunday 29th January reading in the Travel/Tourism Section of The UK "Mailon Suncday"

   

  There was a Graph showing 10 EU Countries ranked in their order of Value for Money.

   

  Greece was NO9 and the 2nd most expensive place to have a Holiday these days.

   

  So sad but unfortunately true

   

  Kind Wishes

   

  Dronz