The Weakness of Mass Tourism in the Covid-19 Period and the Contribution of Architecture

ABSTRACT

According to the World Tourism Organization, tourism is the largest industry in the world. The tourist activity with elements that refer to the mass model of tourism, emerges in many cases as the key activity for the economic development of a place. This phenomenon is constantly recorded during the last decades worldwide and not only in the wider Mediterranean but also in Greece. In this context and to serve as many guests as possible the quality of accommodation services was sacrificed on the altar of the ephemeral. Huge hotel units were built and areas of natural beauty were destroyed. Also, the primary sector was abandoned and rural areas were turned into tourist destinations. The need to move from mass tourism to quality tourism has been highlighted for many years and for many different reasons. The failure of this model and the shift to quality or alternative tourism has already begun. However, the current global crisis regarding the pandemic due to the COVID-19 has once again highlighted the weaknesses of this tourism model. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and assess the current situation and the reasons that led tourists may prefer small accommodation, apartments and houses to the standards of alternative tourism. It also aims to highlight the lack of flexibility in the event of a crisis, both in planning and programming, and to highlight another reason for the transition from mass to alternative tourism. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.