Beyond its intrinsic contribution to the national and local economies, tourism is no longer a source of new knowledge and excitement. Its main function has become a diversion from day-to-day life.
For younger generations in particular, summer vacations often mean repeating all the same leisure activities available in the city, albeit in a different setting. There is, of course, the alternative tourism trend among younger travelers, but it is under increasing pressure. And for the residents of cities and the permanent inhabitants of tourism destinations – or what few there are – the mingling that the summer months bring is no longer an exchange of knowledge and opinions.
In the decades after World War II and until its mass intensification, Greek tourism was not driven purely by the relentless pursuit of profit. For several decades, the relationship between Greek visitors, foreign tourists and locals developed along broadly positive ethical lines. The locals wondered what motivated their visitors and found it hard to believe that anyone could be interested in, or captivated by, things they themselves barely noticed as they went about their rather difficult daily lives. Visitors from Athens, for their part – whether traveling with friends or, mainly, with their families and young children – were “discovering” the locals’ unknown realities.
