The Emergence of ‘Small-scale’ Sport Events in 'Small Island’ Developing States: Towards Creating Sustainable Outcomes for Island Communities

Although academic literature has examined sport events in urban and rural communities, there is limited research on the forces and dynamics that influence the sustainability of sport events in islands. Cyprus represents a small island developing state with an embryonic event industry, which poses the question whether the emergence of new events can contribute to its sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of two nascent sport events: the “Limassol Marathon” and the “Tour of Cyprus Cycling Challenge,” focusing on their prospects for creating strategic outcomes that can contribute to the sustainability and rejuvenation of Cyprus as a tourism destination. The study employed a triangulation research technique through the application of mixed methods, conducting first semistructured interviews with event organizers, and thereafter a survey examining the perceived experiences of event participants. Findings illustrate the interrelationships of new small-scale events that can amplify their synergistic value by enabling the achievement of multiple purposes. Implications are drawn concerning the synergistic value of small-scale sport events and the strategic processes for creating a range of sustainable event outcomes

Tourism policy and residents' well-being in Cyprus: Opportunities and challenges for developing an inside-out destination management approach

The paper explores how Cyprus can increase its competitiveness, sustaining its magnitude and attractive attributes, and ensuring residents’ well-being. The study evaluates the suitability of an ‘inside-out’ planning approach to island tourism development. Eleven interviews were conducted with tourism policy-makers and stakeholders complemented by documentary analysis of official policy sources.Findings indicate that Cyprus tourism policy addresses only indirectly residents’ well-being, and therefore a policy re-orientation focusing on local prosperity is needed. It is proposed that an ‘inside-out’ approach stemming from the kind of development that locals want for improving their quality of life can foster islands’ socio-cultural revitalisation. An ‘inside-out’ approach can redirect Cyprus tourism policy to focus on alternative forms of tourism such as rural/special interest tourism. However, to reconfigure its tourism product, Cyprus should remedy the ‘top-down’ and bureaucratic planning processes that create challenges for the sustainable development of tourism. The adoption of an ‘inside-out’ approach can enable‘bottom-up’ decision-making by empowering residents to partake in local communities’ tourism planning intending to improve life quality. Broadly, these conditions need to be further examined within the context of small island destinations in order to find the means for implementing their repositioning/rebranding driven by a local focus aimed at enhancing residents’ wellbeing

Towards reviving post-Olympic Athens as a cultural destination

This paper examines the effects of global change on the status and qualities of the Greek national capital, Athens, focusing on how they affect the development of cultural tourism in the city. Although Athens constituted one of the most significant destinations for Greek tourism in the past, in recent years it started to weaken. Athens is characterised by a series of problems, among them are the degradation of its environment and quality of life and traffic congestion. However, in terms of tourism development, the Olympic Games helped in re-imaging the city and upgrading its infrastructure. This study based on semi-structured interviews with top officials reveals how global change has affected Athens’ socio-cultural/economic status, identity and image. Despite the tourism policy/planning responses to global changes, Athens’ tourism continues to decline leaving unexplored potential such as its rich cultural heritage, new multicultural identity and the New Acropolis Museum. The paper suggests that cultural elements of capital cities must be multidimensional including a variety of attractions and amenities. The use of cultural heritage assets needs to be in line with global developments in order for cities to effectively leverage heritage for cultural tourism

Olympic legacy and cultural tourism: Exploring the facets of Athens' Olympic heritage

This study examines the effects of the Olympic Games on Athens’ cultural tourism and the city’s potential to leverage the Olympic legacy in synergy with its rich heritage in order to enhance its tourism product during the post-Games period. In doing so, a qualitative and interpretive approach was employed. This includes a literature review on Athens’ 2004 Olympics to identify the sport facilities and regeneration projects, which constitute the Olympic legacy and heritage. Based on that, an empirical analysis was undertaken, by collecting official documents about the 2004 Olympics, and conducting five semi-structured interviews with tourism/administrative officials. The findings indicate that the Olympiad contributed significantly to Athens’ built and human heritage, revealing the dimensions of new venues/facilities, infrastructure, transportation and aesthetic image of the city, and human capital enhancement. Hence, the Games affected to the multifaceted representation and reconstruction of the city’s identity and cultural heritage. However, the potential afforded from the post-Olympic Athens remains unrealised due to lack of strategic planning/management. The study concludes that there is a need to develop cross-leveraging synergies between the Olympic legacy and cultural tourism for the host city. Finally, a strategic planning framework for leveraging post-Games Olympic tourism is suggested in order to maximise the benefits of Olympic legacy and heritage in a host city’s tourism development

How strong is the linkage between tourism and economic growth in Europe?

In this study, we examine the dynamic relationship between tourism growth and economic growth, using a newly introduced spillover index approach. Based on monthly data for 10 European countries over the period 1995{2012, our analysis reveals the following empirical regularities. First, the tourism-economic growth relationship is not stable over time in terms of both magnitude and direction, indicating that the tourism{led economic growth (TLEG) and the economic{driven tourism growth (EDTG) hypotheses are time{dependent. Second, the aforementioned relationship is also highly economic event{dependent, as it is influenced by the Great Recession of 2007 and the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis that began in 2010. Finally, the impact of these economic events is more pronounced in Cyprus,Greece, Portugal and Spain, which are the European countries that have witnessed the greatest economic downturn since 2009. Plausible explanations of these results are provided and policy implications are drawn

Cultural Tourism, Young People and Destination Perception: A Case Study of Delphi, Greece

The aim of the study is to identify young visitors’ perceptions of the archaeological site of Delphi in Greece by measuring their importance and satisfaction levels from a series of cultural attributes through importance-satisfaction analysis. Even though young people are an important segment of the tourism industry little research has been done concerning their actual behaviour towards culture and cultural destinations. Given their significance, an examination of their perceptions towards cultural destinations can give useful insights. This can be done both academically, for the enrichment of theory, but also practically, for the appropriate management of cultural sites according to their needs and wants. In this study it was found that young visitors consider culture as one of the most important motives for travelling. According to the respondents, attributes related to monuments/exhibits at the site are more important than the facilities and amenities provided by its managers. The research identified that, overall, young people were fairly satisfied with Delphi, particularly with its beauty and landscape, but less satisfied with the man-made interventions. Importance-satisfaction analysis indicated that issues concerning the organisation and promotion of the site have positive levels of satisfaction, while issues concerning education and quality have comparatively negative levels. Factor Analysis derived three groups of attributes that should be considered for the future planning of the destination: ‘Place and Experience’; ‘Amenities and Quality’; ‘Facilities and Operation’. Finally, Cluster Analysis indicated that there are three main segments of young visitors in Delphi which, according to their profile, develop certain behaviours that should also be taken into account for the future promotion of the site; ‘The Greeks’; ‘The Americans and others’; ‘The French’. Therefore, better management strategies according to the needs and wants of this dynamic market would make the site more attractive, contributing to the promotion of cultural tourism in general. The study found that young people are great ‘consumers’ of culture and seek to enrich their knowledge while visiting cultural destinations. If a cultural destination meets their specific needs and wants, greater levels of satisfaction will be generated. Positive levels of satisfaction will lead to a series of positive consequences: loyalty, mouth to mouth marketing and peer influence. This, in addition to the fact that young people are the tourists of the future, can lead to the creation of consciousness for culture while travelling and to the enhancement of the potential visitation of the site in the following years

The implementation of artificial intelligence in public administration

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the different aspects of the integration of artificial intelligence in public administration, as well as to try to clarify the ethical dilemmas that this integration entails. The integration and utilization of artificial intelligence in all aspects of public administration is not enough to take place just because it is an innovative technological system. Even if the ethical risks arising from the use of artificial intelligence are completely eliminated, it cannot be achieved unless it is implemented under specially designed strategies that focus on serving citizens. So, the question that needs to be answered should not be how artificial intelligence can be used to solve public service problems, but what problems are to be solved through the use of artificial intelligence, how can be resolved and why. Generally, we believe that the responsibility for the results of the actions and decisions of artificial intelligence systems should always be held by humans, while these systems should not be used when there is a possibility that they will guide, in a specific direction, the human subconscious or human behavior, so that it ends up causing harm to the same or another person. In any case, the joint creation of a regulatory framework of ethics for the use of artificial intelligence systems, by government organizations and by the citizens, is considered mutually beneficial and necessary.Σκοπός της εν λόγω διατριβής είναι η διερεύνηση των διαφορετικών πτυχών της ενσωμάτωσης της τεχνητής νοημοσύνης στη δημόσια διοίκηση, καθώς επίσης και η διενέργεια μίας προσπάθειας διαλεύκανσης των ηθικών διλλημάτων που συνεπάγεται η ενσωμάτωση αυτή. Η ενσωμάτωση και αξιοποίηση της τεχνητής νοημοσύνης στο σύνολο των πτυχών της δημόσιας διοίκησης δεν αρκεί να πραγματοποιηθεί μόνο επειδή αυτή αποτελεί ένα καινοτόμο τεχνολογικό σύστημα. Ακόμη και αν επέλθει πλήρης εξάλειψη των ηθικών κινδύνων που απορρέουν από την αξιοποίηση συστημάτων τεχνητής νοημοσύνης, δεν μπορεί να καταστεί εφικτή αν δεν εφαρμοστεί κάτω από ειδικά σχεδιασμένες στρατηγικές που θέτουν ως επίκεντρο την εξυπηρέτηση των πολιτών. Άρα, η ερώτηση που χρήζει απάντησης δεν πρέπει να αφορά στο με ποιον τρόπο μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί η τεχνητή νοημοσύνη για την επίλυση των προβλημάτων των δημόσιων υπηρεσιών, αλλά στο ποια προβλήματα είναι αυτά που πρέπει να επιλυθούν μέσω της χρήσης της τεχνητής νοημοσύνης, το πώς μπορούν να επιλυθούν και για ποιον λόγο. Γενικότερα, θεωρούμε ότι την αποκλειστική ευθύνη για τα αποτελέσματα των ενεργειών και αποφάσεων των συστημάτων τεχνητής νοημοσύνης πρέπει να την έχει πάντα ο άνθρωπος, ενώ τα συστήματα αυτά δεν θα πρέπει να χρησιμοποιούνται όταν υπάρχει η πιθανότητα να καθοδηγήσουν, προς συγκεκριμένη κατεύθυνση, το ανθρώπινο υποσυνείδητο ή την ανθρώπινη συμπεριφορά, ώστε να καταλήξει να προκληθεί βλάβη προς τον ίδιο ή άλλον άνθρωπο. Σε κάθε περίπτωση, η από κοινού δημιουργία ενός κανονιστικού πλαισίου ηθικής και δεοντολογίας για την χρήση των συστημάτων τεχνητής νοημοσύνης, από τους κυβερνητικούς φορείς και από τους ίδιους τους πολίτες, κρίνεται αμφοτεροβαρώς επικερδής, ωφέλιμη και αναγκαία

Islands' tourist development and local residents' prosperity: reality or an unsolved problem?

Most islands are developed as mass tourist destinations that aim to be competitive, sacrificing though their precious resources and balanced development. In this regard, many problems of island destinations are related to their limited resources and segregation. Hence, is prosperity that tourist development brings, spread harmonically in the whole society-environment of islands? The paper examines how Cyprus can increase its competitiveness and deal effectively with globalisation, maintaining its attractiveness but also sustaining its attributes and ensuring the well-being of its residents/stakeholders. Based on in-depth interviews with Cyprus tourism stakeholders’ representatives and officials, the study reveals that in order for islands’ tourist development to be successful in the long-term, emphasis needs to be placed upon indigenous people peculiarities,characteristics and perceptions. Therefore, strategies for the incorporation of community’s views to the tourist policy making and planning are proposed