Regional disparities of cultural tourism in Greece

Abstract

Cultural tourism, a major form of alternative or special interest tourism is regarded as having the capacity to expand the spatial and temporal dispersion of tourism flows. However, the literature regarding the spatial inequalities of cultural tourism activity is mainly dedicated to its supply side, while that on the demand side is limited. This paper attempts to supplement the small body of relevant literature by examining regional disparities of cultural tourism demand in Greece. Moreover, it seeks to set its spatial inequalities against those of tourism demand. To this end, Gini coefficients of cultural tourism demand and tourism demand indicators are employed and compared. The results indicate that cultural tourism demand does not reduce spatial inequalities but, conversely, enhances them both in tourism and economic terms. Furthermore, cultural tourism disparities are even more sizeable than those of total tourism, implying that it possesses features of mass tourism (high concentration of visitor flows). The above cast
doubt on its capacity to act as a form of alternative tourism, unless strategic policies are implemented.

JEL Classifications: R12, Z32
Keywords: Cultural tourism, regional tourism disparities, balanced regional development, Gini coefficient, Greece