2. Greece as a sports tourism destination
Dimitrios Belias, Efstathios Velissariou, Dimitrios Kyriakou, Vasiliadis Labros Aspridis George , Christos Mantas, Roditis Alexandros , Athanasios Koustelios

3. Introduction Tourism: A rapidly growing sector of the global economy
Must be analyzed the role of tourist and how culture affects the environment
Greece:
popular destination due to climate, natural beauties, but mainly because of culture
BUT degraded and unmanaged bid often characterizes some tourist destinations in Greece causes strong pressure on local communities, the residential and natural environment and the cultural.
Sports Tourism:
Olympic Games in 2004
Examining:
Greece as a tourist destination for sport tourism

4. Methodology Critical review of the literature
Collecting References over CRM and social media
Using online bibliographic databases (Science Direct, Emelard, EBSCO, Google Scholar, Scirus)
Included articles from scientific journals, books, conference proceedings, company papers and studies, white papers, online sites, online journals.

5. Components of Tourism
Natural Attractions and Environment:
Climate – Scenic Beauty – Beaches and Marine areas – Flora and Fauna – Mountains – Health tourism – Winter sports
The Build Environment:
Accommodations – Technology – Information – Transportation – Sport tourism
Cultural Attractions:
Archaeological, Historical, and Cultural Sites - Distinctive Cultural Patters - Interesting Urban areas - Museums and Other Cultural facilities - Cultural festival
Economic Impact of Tourism :
Tourism is a powerful economic force providing employment, foreign exchange, income and tax revenue

6. The role of Government Involvement in Tourism
government intervention is required to achieve material objectives because of the absence of a developed and innovative private sector
Private sector involvement:
is likely to be initiated by opportunities for profitable investment and priorities are likely to be related to financial and economic considerations
Types of government’s involvement:
Managerial Involvement
Passive Involvement
Administrative framework

7. Tourism in Greece
Examining: the importance of tourism to the Greek economy, the structural problems and the weaknesses it faces as well as its competitiveness:
Greek tourism product is an amalgam of natural, cultural and heritage attractions spread throughout the country, as well as a wide variety of services offered.
the last decade several substantial infrastructure developments were made for the 2004 Olympics which are under extreme pressure in the summer peak months to satisfy the demand density (Trivellas et al, 2015).
Greece’s tourism industry has traditionally been dominated by summer holidaymakers seeking sun, sea and sand.
Greece suffers from a lack of differentiation of the tourism product as well as competitive disadvantages in marketing and planning.

8. The Contribution of Tourism to the Greek Economy
Tourism is a vital motivator of the Greek economy reducing the deficit of the balance of payments, boosting employment, generating income, and contributing to regional development
Sport Tourism
Sport is the field in which competitive activities are based on which people are employed during their recreation by promoting their health, practicing and improving their performance.
Sport is a particular activity in the tourism industry and tourism is a fundamental feature that governs sport.
Sports and tourism are sometimes interrelated.
Linking sport and tourism has the effect of understanding the different cultures and lifestyles of different cultures.

9. Forms of sport tourism
Athletic tourists are those tourists who travel to watch athletic matches as spectators while staying at the destination in addition to their sporting obligations.
Sports athlete is the person who professionally or amateuristically engages in sports and needs expensive equipment while attending athletic competitions systematically and choosing to travel.
Coaching tourism is a category of tourism that occupies a key position with regard to the country's organizational strategy for attracting sporting events.
Athletic tourism can attract many people as it is a costly process and offers a unique experience not only to the spectator of the events but also to everyone involved.

10. Discussion
The potential in Greece for the development of sport tourism seems to be enough
In Greece, active sports tourism are divided into 3 categories: a) activities related to the sea, such as sailing, diving, kayaking and yachting; b) outdoor activities such as climbing, skiing, Hiking, rafting, kayaking in lakes and rivers, and c) physical activities such as tennis, golf and much more
the marketing of these programs was very limited, but efforts to attract the interest of foreign tourists to active holidays were also limited

11. The choice of the Internet as the main means of communication to attract foreign tourists continues to be challenging for businesses in Greece in the competitive tourist environment (Koutouris & Alexandris, 2005)
The takeover of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games by Athens was a very important event for Greece, with multiple economic and social influences
The success of an organization in the unhindered conduct of many athletic and not only events does not automatically translate into a significant positive effect on the economy

12. Conclusion
This paper has examined the case of Greece as a sport tourist destination. Indeed, Greece has the related infrastructure and experience on sport events, while the Olympic Games had a positive impact in Greek tourism (IOBE, 2015)
There is a need for further research into this field - include a mixed method approach which will include qualitative and quantitative research where the researchers will evaluate whether Greece can develop as a tourist destination

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