=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2761/HAICTA_2020_paper64
|storemode=property
|title=Development Strategies for Exploiting Local Resources through the Views of the Local Residents
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2761/HAICTA_2020_paper64.pdf
|volume=Vol-2761
|authors=Eleftheria Fytopoulou,Evangelia Karasmanaki,Spyridon Galatsidas,Veronika Andrea,Georgios Tsantopoulos
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/haicta/FytopoulouKGAT20
}}
==Development Strategies for Exploiting Local Resources through the Views of the Local Residents==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2761/HAICTA_2020_paper64.pdf
Development Strategies for Exploiting Local Resources
through the Views of the Local Residents
Eleftheria Fytopoulou1, Evangelia Karasmanaki2, Spyridon Galatsidas3, Veronika
Andrea4, Georgios Tsantopoulos5
1
Rectorate, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54424 Thessaloniki,
Greece; e-mail: efytopou@rect.auth.gr
2
Department of Forestry and Management of Environment and Natural Resources
Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street, 68 200 Orestiada, Greece; e-mail:
evagkara2@fmenr.duth.gr
3
Department of Forestry and Management of Environment and Natural Resources
Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street, 68 200 Orestiada, Greece; e-mail:
sgalatsi@fmenr.duth.gr
4
Department of Forestry and Management of Environment and Natural Resources
Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street, 68 200 Orestiada, Greece; e-mail:
vandrea@fmenr.duth.gr
5
Department of Forestry and Management of Environment and Natural Resources
Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street, 68 200 Orestiada, Greece; e-mail:
tsantopo@fmenr.duth.gr
Abstract. In order to halt the migration from rural areas to the cities and to
encourage people to return or move to rural regions, it is critical to examine the
local residents’ views on different development paths. Employing the techniques
of social psychology, this study investigates residents’ views on the present
situation and development potential in the Regional Unit of Drama in Greece.
The analysis indicated that most residents were dissatisfied with the degree that
the beautiful locations as well as the events, products and services are promoted
by various bodies. At the same time, they were willing to support the
establishment of a single body which would undertake the management and
exploitation of local natural resources while they considered that such body
could create new jobs and coordinate actions more effectively.
Keywords: environmental communication; local development; residents’
attitudes; sustainable development.
1 Introduction
Urbanization together with rural population’s inward migration led to uneven
development and to the expansion of differences among various Regions in Greece
(Chatzitheodoridis et al., 2016). To alleviate economic issues and to trigger prosperity
in such Regions, the exploitation of local resources is a prerequisite for achieving and
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maintaining local development. In specific, the available resources play a critical role
in local development and can involve both the natural environment and wealth sources
such as metal ores which can become products of added value once they are processed
(Soutsas, 2006).
The major economic changes with the most important being the transformation of
the economy, make the development in less-favored areas a particularly challenging
issue (Polyzos, 2011). An indicative example of such areas would be the Regional Unit
of Drama, which is located in the northernmost part of Greece and away from large
urban centers. The Regional Unit of Drama has suffered severely not only from the
large-scale migration towards Greek urban centers or other countries, but also from the
loss of jobs which began in the mid-1980s and lasts until today. Despite these negative
conditions, the Region is a distinct case study because the exquisite local natural wealth
can support multiple activities included in alternative tourism and attract tourists both
from the wider area and other countries. However, this potential remains, to a great
extent, unexploited.
Against this background, the present paper aims to investigate residents’ views on
the current situation as well as the development potential in the Regional Unit of
Drama. The investigation of their views is important for designing effective
communication strategies and targeted actions in the future.
2 Methodology
The area of study was the Regional Unit of Drama which is part of the Region of
East Macedonia and Thrace, in Greece. The Regional Unit of Drama is located in the
northernmost part of Macedonia and in the westernmost part in the administrative
Region of East Macedonia and Thrace. The research instrument was the questionnaire
and in total 500 residents completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of
23 items and most of these items were closed-ended questions with four- and five-
point Likert scales as well as few dichotomous questions. The collection of the
questionnaires started in November 2016 and ended in September 2017. To scrutinize
the obtained data, the SPSS 23 was used and, in specific, descriptive statistics and
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were conducted.
3 Results
3.1 Socioeconomic characteristics
In terms of gender, female respondents (68.4%) outnumbered their male
counterparts (31.6%). Regarding age and education level, 39.4% were aged between
41 and 50 years and many respondents were university (34.2%) and high school
graduates (28.6%). Regarding occupation, a considerable share of respondents was
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employed in the public sector (18.4%) while the majority, by 70.4%, was married and
a significant share had two children (39.4%).
3.2 Communication policy on the promotion and exploitation of local resources
Communication policy as a means to harness local resources can be characterized
by multiple and different objectives. In this study, the residents’ responses were
analyzed according to the measures of central tendency and dispersion (mean, median
and standard deviation) (Table 1). First, the residents were required to evaluate three
major objectives that communication policy sets in order to exploit local resources. As
it can be seen in Table 1, the ‘Promotion of local products’ was the highest ranked
objective (mean=4.10) followed by the “Promotion of alternative tourism types”
(mean=3.95) and “Public awareness about environmental protection” (mean=3.83).
Table 1. Measures of central tendency and dispersion concerning communication policy
objectives to promote and exploit local resources
Communication policy objectives Mean Median Standard deviation
Promotion of local products 4.10 4.0 1.03
Promotion of alternative tourism types 3.95 4.0 1.11
Public awareness about environmental
3.83 4.0 1.06
protection
Total 1.83 2.0 0.60
Next, respondents were asked which media should be used to promote local
resources. As shown in Table 2, the “Internet” and “Television-Radio” were regarded
as the most suitable media to promote local resources. These were followed by
“Newspapers-magazines”, “Posters-banners” and “Printed advertising material”.
Table 2. Measures of central tendency and dispersion concerning the media’s promotion of
local resources
Media Mean Median Standard deviation
Internet 2.05 2.0 0.78
Television – radio 1.93 2.0 0.73
Newspapers – magazines 1.79 2.0 0.64
Posters – banners 1.66 1.0 0.88
Printed advertising material 1.60 2.0 0.71
The attraction of specific tourist groups consists an important strategy to promote
tourism. According to the residents, efforts aiming at promoting tourism in the Region
should focus primarily on “Greek tourists” while the following preferred tourist types
were “Tourists travelling in groups”, “Foreign tourists” and “High-profile tourists”
(Table 3).
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Table 3. Measures of central tendency and dispersion regarding residents’ preference for tourist
types
Tourist types Mean Median Standard deviation
Greek tourists 4.34 5.0 1.07
Tourists travelling in groups 4.02 4.0 1.12
Foreign tourists 3.96 4.0 1.22
High-profile tourists 3.66 4.0 1.26
Then, residents’ satisfaction with various bodies, in terms of their efforts to promote
local natural resources, was examined. Overall, the residents expressed a low level of
satisfaction with all bodies, however, “Municipality”, “Regional administration” and
the “Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism” received the highest rankings
(Table 4).
Table 4. Measures of central tendency and dispersion relating to residents’ level of satisfaction
with various bodies in terms of their efforts to promote local natural resources
Bodies Mean Median Standard deviation
Municipality 1.93 2.0 0.75
Regional administration 1.85 2.0 0.77
Ministry of Economy, Development
1.70 2.0 0.58
and Tourism
Media 1.60 2.0 0.63
Tourist offices 1.59 2.0 0.64
3.3 Level of promotion of the local events, products and services
The Regional Unit of Drama involves characteristic products, monuments and
events which could attract visitors. The residents, however, perceived that they are
promoted at different degrees and, in specific, the events of “Oneiroupoli (Dream
city)” (mean= 4.21) followed by the “International short-film Festival of Drama”
(mean= 3.55) were the most promoted events (Table 5).
Table 5. Measures of central tendency and dispersion regarding the promotion of characteristic
products, monuments and events of the Region
Characteristic products, monuments and events Mean Median Standard deviation
“Oneiroupoli” (Dream city) 4.21 4.0 0.91
International short film festival of Drama 3.55 4.0 1.24
“Draminognosia” (Wine tasting in Drama) 3.04 3.0 1.23
Local customs and traditions 2.73 3.0 1.12
Local traditional products 2.57 3.0 1.02
Sites and landscapes of particular natural
2.29 2.0 0.95
beauty
Alternative activities 2.19 2.0 1.16
Archaeological sites and museums 2.16 2.0 0.94
Food and recreation services 2.15 2.0 0.97
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To scrutinize residents’ responses regarding the promotion of events, products and
services, Principal Component Analysis was performed (Siardos, 2002, Hair et al.,
2010). According to the results shown in Table 6, the first factor includes the
characteristics, services and products which receive limited promotion. In specific, this
factor was formed by the variables “Food and recreation services” (Α13.8, mean=
2.15), “Alternative activities” (Α13.7, mean= 2.19), “Local customs and traditions”
(Α13.9, mean= 2.73), “Local traditional products” (Α13.6, mean= 2.57),
“Archaeological sites and museums” (Α13.4, mean= 2.16) and “Sites and landscapes
of particular natural beauty” (Α13.5, mean= 2.29). Conversely, the second factor
involves the local events which are highly promoted. That is, the “International short
film festival of Drama” (Α13.2, mean= 3.55), “Oneiroupoli (Dream city)” (Α13.1,
mean= 4.21) and “Draminognosia” (Wine tasting in Drama) (Α13.3, mean= 3.04)
formed this factor.
Table 6. Results of Principal Component Analysis and analysis of category reliability
Variables F1 F2 CFV
Α13.8 Food and recreation services 0.916 0.839
Α13.7 Alternative activities 0.874 0.768
Α13.9 Local customs and traditions 0.829 0.733
Α13.6 Local traditional products 0.799 0.729
Α13.4 Archaeological sites and museums 0.795 0.706
Α13.5 Sites and landscapes of particular natural beauty 0.686 0.827
Α13.2 International short film festival of Drama 0.863 0.804
Α13.1 “Oneiroupoli” (Dream city) 0.832 0.694
Α13.3 “Draminognosia” (Wine tasting in Drama) 0.814 0.812
Explained variance 47.1% 29.7%
Total explained variance 76.8%
Cronbach’s alpha 0.925 0.835
Total scale reliability 0.930
Mean factorial degree 2.35 3.60
Standard deviation 0.88 0.99
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Test 0.846
Bartlett’s test of sphericity: chi-square=3558.556, DF= 6, p<0.0001
3.4 Measures to improve the current situation
The residents were positive to the establishment of a single body which would be
responsible for the management and exploitation of local natural resources as they
considered that it would result in the “Creation of new jobs” and “Creation of better
conditions for increasing income” (Table 7).
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Table 7. Measures of central tendency and dispersion regarding the effects of establishing a
single body for the management and exploitation of local natural resources
Effects Mean Median Standard deviation
Creation of new jobs 3.33 3.0 0.55
Creation of better conditions for
3.30 3.0 0.56
increasing income
Better coordination of actions 3.29 3.0 0.57
Positive contribution to tourism
3.27 3.0 0.54
development in the Region
Participation of more parties in
3.15 3.0 0.51
decision-making processes
Higher effectiveness of the relevant
3.15 3.0 0.53
actions
Total 3.24 3.0 0.63
The residents were finally asked whether they would be willing to participate in a
single body for the management and exploitation of local natural resources. As
presented in Table 8, the respondents were divided with 55% being willing and 45%
being unwilling to participate.
Table 8. Frequency and percentages concerning residents’ willingness to participate in a single
body for the management and exploitation of local natural resources
Frequency Percent
Yes 275 55.0
No 225 45.0
Total 500 100.0
4 Conclusions
Any communication policy is doomed to failure unless it consists part of a wider
strategy targeted towards the future local development of the Region. For this reason,
coordination between various local bodies, who undertake production activities or own
businesses, and residents is necessary. In the context of a wider coordination, a
communication strategy ought to be targeted while setting clear and realistic
objectives.
According to the residents of Drama, the main objectives of communication policy
ought to be the promotion of local products through the Internet and the attraction of
tourists. It was also interesting that, in terms of the promotion of local natural
resources, the residents were dissatisfied with the actions of the Municipality and the
Regional Administration but were satisfied with tourism offices, the media and the
Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism. In addition, they perceived that
there is a ‘two-speed’ promotion of local resources with the first being the well-known
events “Oneiroupoli” (Dream city), the “International short film festival of Drama”
and “Draminognosia” (Wine tasting in Drama) and the low speed being the beautiful
natural sites and landscapes as well as the local traditional products of the Region.
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Finally, more than half residents (by 55%) were positive to the establishment of a
single body for the management and exploitation of local natural resources and
perceived that it could create new jobs and better conditions for increasing income.
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2. Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J. and Anderson, R.E. (2010). Multivariate Data
Analysis. 7th Edition. New York: Pearson.
3. Polyzos, S. (2011) Regional development, p. 626. Athens: Kritiki Publications.
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