Tourism is one of the key factors for regional development while in combination with alternative forms developed in an area, it can contribute to the integrated development of economic growth within it. In this line, this study presents scenarios for the spatial and tourist interventions in the county of Pella aimed for planning the management of specific alternative forms of tourism and the development of a new policy and governance. The survey was conducted using a face-to-face questionnaire survey (n = 323 guests) and it is based on an analysis of the data which emanated from investigating the attitudes and opinions of the visitors of the Thermal Springs of Pozar, which was used as a sampling center, while the parameters considered were the sustainable management of the wider region and the creation of a tourist destination package with the purpose of transforming the area into a holiday resort.
Sustainable management of tourism in Greece is a growth strategy for both
government policies and private businesses and companies, following the Guidelines
set by the European Commission as well as current EU regulations. The (Contingent
Valuation Method) CVM is a recognized methodology in the field of the economics
of the environment, acknowledged by the European Commission for determining
spatial GIS data in areas of special scientific interest
The purpose of this research is to record and analyze tourism and development demand conditions with an environmental, social and economic impact on a region. For this reason, with the help of employing a tool, a map for leisure was formed to record the tourism value and the importance of a leisure destination in combination with other ones along with intervention scenarios both in the research area of the Thermal Springs of Pozar and the wider area.
The method of Dependent Valuation (CVM) is based on the development of
techniques of Willingness to Pay (WTP)
The satisfaction of visitors in a recreation area can be expressed and measured by
means of presenting criteria of leisure activities
Investigating the literature concerning CVM, most authors and researchers
combine this methodology with additional multivariate analysis such as PCA, Cluster
Analysis, and Cronbach's a, resulting in the development of reliability indicators for
governance policies
The Haphazard Sampling method was used, which is a method applicable to
recreation and yields samples that are not based on probabilities
The processing of the results and the analysis of the data were realized by using
the statistic program IBM SPSS v.20. The Method of Factor Analysis in Principal
Component Analysis was used to reduce the large number of criteria set on the
respondents and to form new parameters and finally the Rotation Method: Varimax
with Kaiser Normalization was used
This study focused on the prefecture of Loutraki Arideas, which is situated in Central Macedonia. The Loutraki region is a mainly mountainous area of 1.146 residents, according to the Greek National Census of 2011. Tourist facilities are organized in a small spa town with hotels, swimming pools, changing rooms, restaurants, cafeteria. In the Spa area, there are guesthouses within a distance of one kilometer, while in Loutraki and the wider area there are hotels and apartments. In winter, many visitors combine the thermal spa with the ski center of Kaimaktsalan. Hiking, walks in the gorge of Loutra, climbing, and visits to the caves of the area are some of the activities for the visitors.
As regards the question, which focused on creating a new vision or proposal on the management of the wider region, 83.3% of the sample (n = 269) guests stated that they have a new vision for the region, while only 16.7% (n = 54) of the respondents have no vision. Then, visitors who have a new management vision were asked through prefabricated closed-ended questions to choose proposals that can be implemented in the region through the technique of willingness to travel (WTT). The first proposal concerned the construction of a Cable car from the Thermal Springs of Pozar to the Kaimaktsalan Ski Centre since both recreational areas are located in the same mountainous area. The results revealed that this scenario would be chosen by 205 guests (63.5%) while it would not be chosen by 64 of the respondents (19.8%). Regarding the second proposal, which involved developing an Environmental Education Center, 124 respondents (38.4%) were positive while 145 respondents, that is 44.9% were negative. Regarding the third proposal, the development of organized ecotourism leisure activities such as hiking/climbing, etc., 171 of the sample visitors, that is 52.9% were in favour of it while as a lower rate of 30.3% (n = 98) were not in favour of this vision. Finally, the opportunity was given to sample visitors to express their opinion through a free and open-ended question which produced the results presented below. The Alternative Proposals for the Management of the Wider Area are: Wi Fi ,Wind Surfing – Kite-surfing in Lake Vegoritida, Sports Facilities, Upgrading the facilities of Pozar, Utilization of Geothermal Energy, Utilization and renovation of the old hotel, Utilization of Geothermal Energy, Development of Religious tourism in Monastiraki, Utilization of old accommodation facilities, Development of an English language site with offers on tourism packages, Creating a sports and medical center , Designating a special area for caravans Establishing Sanitary facilities for waste management, Create fauna access sites, Developing a traditional settlement, Leisure time-Introducing organized centres Clubs, Promoting abroad through advertising, Water resources management, Activities for children, Horse riding , Casino , Better links among nearby destinations (roads), Campsite, Construction of a Pool Bar, Cafes for non-smoking individuals, Transferring and creating Folklore Museum within the Resort, Guided tours in the Springs area, Guided Tours across Almopia region - excursions, Exploring nature on horseback and more Spas and baths.
The estimate of the additional frequency of visits to the Pozar Thermal Springs in case the options related to the visions for the region were realized, has significant results concerning the positive effects that can arise at the economic and social level. 77.1% of the sample, that is n = 249 respondents, would more often visit the Spa while only 5.6% (n = 18) would not. The figures for the tourists’ visits based on response data in terms of visiting the Thermal Springs more times per year are presented in Table 1. Concerning managing of the Thermal Spring, the respondent guests were asked indicate whether they have a suggestion/ vision. The majority, 75.2% (n = 243) had an alternative while only 24.8% (n = 80) did not have one. For the 243 respondents who had a positive alternative option, closed-type scenarios gave them the chance to choose. The first proposal was to create a hotel complex within the resort; statistics revealed that 117 respondents (36.2%) would like this vision, whereas 126 would not choose this option that is, 39% of 75.2% of the sample who were positive towards the scenarios. The second scenario involved the creation of ultramodern spas; the results of the analysis revealed a positive response rate by the majority of the sample at a rate of 48.3% (n = 156), while this option was not desired by 26.9% (n = 87). Creating new leisure parks with specific thematic areas in the resort comprised another vision for the Thermal Springs area; 140 visitors (43.3%) selected this alternative and wanted to implement this proposal as opposed to 103 (31.9%) who did not choose to implement it. Improving technical infrastructure of the area (roads, sidewalks, etc.) was selected by 138 of the respondents (42.7%) while 104 respondents (32.2%) did not select it. Finally, the sample visitors were given the opportunity to express their opinion on a free and open-ended question about what they wish to have implemented in the area of Loutra; the results are shown below. The alternative Scenarios of Managing the Thermal Springs are: Restoration of the surroundings and developing of new ones, Gym with personal trainers and Erotic Massage, Creating facilities for the disabled, Creating theme parks, Establishing a clinic, Creating new changing rooms with lockers, Creating facilities for the disabled, Advertising campaign of the Thermal Springs and the region, Cleanliness of the pool and waterfalls infrastructure, Construction of a Pool Bar, Guides available within the resort, Guides available in the region, Presentation of the ancient history of the Thermal Springs, More benefits, more cleanliness at the River and Hydroelectric station.
The WTT technique was also used in the spas management scenarios concerning
the realization of the visions and the proposals selected with reference the visit
frequency in the wider region. 71.5% of the sample (n = 231) responded that they
would more often visit the region while only 3.4% (n =11) would not visit it. The
figures for the tourists’ visits based on response data in terms of visiting the wider
region more times per year are presented in Table 2. The comparative results from
the application of the WTT technique revealed that in case the scenarios concerning
the management of the wider region were applied, the WTT per year would be 1288
journeys compared to the ones to the Thermal Springs area, which are 1125 trips.
Furthermore, to investigate the attitudes and opinions of the visitors towards
environmental issues, their opinion for environmental awareness, the Natura 2000
network, etc. was sought. The environmental awareness of visitors to issues related
to caring for natural resources (rangeland, forest, water, game) was investigated by
the degree of their interest. The responses of the total sample (n = 323) showed great
environmental awareness 70.9% (n = 229), low environmental awareness 27.6 (n =
89) and no environmental awareness 1.5% (n = 5) respectively. As to their
knowledge of what the protected areas are
As part of the correlation of the Pozar Thermal Springs with the Kaimaktsalan Ski Centre, the visitors of the Baths were asked to answer whether they have visited the Ski resort. Their responses indicate that 225 visitors have visited the Ski Center in contrast to 98 who have not visited it, a fact that indicates that at a first stage there is a connection between the two areas.
To construct a new tourist plan with special and alternative forms of tourism which are developed in the wider area, the tourist attraction areas were presented to the sample of guests who were asked to choose which of the following destinations they would choose or have already chosen during their visit. The plan shows that the visitors will plan or have planned a trip firstly to the Ski Center (n = 214), a result which indicates that ski tourism emerges first in the preferences of visitors to the area, then they choose the settlement of St. Athanasios as a travel destination, that is, cultural tourism (n = 175), eco-tourism on Mt. Voras (n = 83) follows, after that, the visitors choose the Lake Vegoritida, that is, water sports tourism (n = 56), the destination of the wetland Agra-Vrytton-Nisi follows by developing agrotourism (n = 44) and finally, the tourist plan of preferences ends with the selection of Panagitsa airport (n = 36)which offers activities of air sports tourism.
The results of the Factor Analysis show that the analysis is significant for the research. The KMO has a very high index of 0.927 (sig. = 0), which means that the exploratory work is almost perfect. Approx. Chi-Square=5161.397 and df:276. From the 24 eigenvalues, which were exported, only four are located above one and explain the 64.841% of the variance. The results are shown in the block diagram (scree plot) in which there is an exact alignment of the curve with the horizontal axis x. After the final separation and the creation of new factors, the location of the variables within the dimensions of leisure activities drawing on the elements of environmental resources, took place as follows: Fly Foxing, Kayaking, Rafting, Boating-Ecotourism, 4x4 Routes, Horse Riding and Archery, contribute to the first factor (activities related to water), Moto cross, Snowboarding, Motorcycle Racing, Aviation - Air sports, Controlled fishing, Professional winter sports, Camping and Paragliding contribute to the second factor (activities related to the earth and the air ), Climbing, Exploration of forest paths, Climbing, Mountain Hiking-Trekking, Mountain Biking, Adventure games in nature and Cycling contribute to the third factor (recreational activities related to the forest), while only the Tour of the Chapel of Prophet Elias and Skiing at the Ski resort of Kaimaktsalan contribute the fourth factor (activities related to the snow) . Finally, the largest load occurred between the first and the second factor with a 0.554 index.
Fly Fox Kayak Moto cross Rafting Snowboard Motorcycle Racing Aviation – Air sports Climb Boating - Ecotourism 4x4 routes Tour of the chapel of Prophet Elias Controlled Fishing Forestry exploration paths Professional winter sports Riding Camping Climbing Mountain Hiking -Trekking Mountain Biking Adventure games in nature Paragliding Cycling Skiing at the resort of Kaimaktsalan Archery Cluster1: (the third factor outweighs) = Green Tourists with special motivation for the mountain. Cluster2: (the second factor outweighs) = Tourists with a motive for racing sports. Cluster3: (the first factor outweighs) = Tourists seeking alternative adventure.
Frequency Percent To construct a novel tourist 235 72.8 plan for developing a new 35 10.8 policy and governance in the 52 16.1 region, guests were asked to
Total 322 99.7 answer if they would be Missing System 1 0.3 interested in having a combo Total 323 100 ticket for attempting further leisure activities in the area.
Then, as part of the data collection process, a recreation card was used which involved all leisure activities at the county level as well as their cost currently. The results revealed that the 88.9% of the total sample of 323 respondents, that is their vast majority (n = 287) would choose this combo-ticket, as opposed to 11.1% (n = 36) who would not choose it. For the guests who had selected the common economical ticket for recreation activities, the descriptive results are presented by Missing System (n = 36 i.e., 11.1%). From the above table, it is shown that the majority of the sample prefers Balneotherapy, skiing, riding, boating, kayaking and flights in order of preference. Pearson x 2 between kayaking and boating activities showed prices equal to 66.015 (df = 1, sig. = 0) and Phi Cramer's V = 0.480 (sig. = 0) is weakly positive and statistically significant at level (p <0.05). All the results for the control x 2 for the tour plan are presented in the following table. The minimum total percentage discount on the selected activities in the combo ticket was requested to encourage visitors to buy it.
Table 6. Percentage descriptive statistics of total Combo-Ticket discount
Valid Missing
In addition, 278 of the visitors (86.1%) would like to have N 28376 doregstainniazteiodnsvisitisn tothtehe rtoeguiroisnt Mean 13.59 offered, while only a part of the Median 10 sample that is 13.9% (n = 45) Std. Deviation 12.058 would not opt for them. Of Variance 145.397 them, 265 respondents (82%) Range 59 stated that they would be willing Minimum 1 to pay for such a service while Maximum 60 only 22 respondents (6.8%) would not be willing to pay. The maximum amount of money that the visitors in the sample would be willing to pay for such service was identified, as shown below in terms of descriptive statistics.
According to the research findings, the technique of WTT offers future spatial intervention scenarios in the study area. Heyes and Heyes (1999) developed a series of economic evaluation tools, contingent valuation method (CVM) - contingent activity method (CAM) & travel cost method (TCM), evaluating the recreational benefits from/ of a park with tourist importance. The present study attempts to shape and define the specific resource needs with the aim of sustainable, effective management and control of the environment in accordance with the potential of the area. After all, it is believed that leisure activities can identify developmental goals and create tourist standards to ensure the maximum satisfaction of guests. Moreover, the results of this research propose a different tourist plan compared to the already existing ones, which involve the development of a new policy, and governance identified as essential at the local level. The models formed to determine the quality level of leisure services within this framework of sustainable tourism development. Last but not least, suggestions for further research can involve the implementation of the TCM for determining both the recreation value and the tourism value of the particular region.