The internationally recognized professor with extensive experience in the field of strategic management in tourism talks about the advantages and prospects.
“To find the authentic roots of hospitality, to use technology to help produce and co-produce value for all those involved in the sector,” emphasizes Mr. Bouhalis, speaking to TEAM FM 102.
The authenticity of Rethymno through an experienced “eye”: Mr. Bouchalis shares his experience of people, beautiful hangouts and places he visits on the island and the Prefecture.
*Konstantina Klapsinou
If Crete is winning the tourism “bet” today, it owes it not only to its natural environment and beauty, but mainly to its hospitality, authenticity and people. After all, these are the elements that make a visitor return and become an ambassador of the place…
Today, technology is transforming the environment, societies and consequently activities such as tourism. Therefore, the great challenge for the island is to combine the authentic experience with modern infrastructure, services, local identity and the demands of a global and increasingly demanding tourist environment.
“Crete is a blessed place,” emphasized Dimitris Bouchalis, a professor at Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom, on TEAM FM 102, who constitutes a strong and large “capital” in the field of strategic management in tourism with many years of international experience and extensive research work.
He highlighted the high potential of Crete’s tourism product and referred extensively to what Crete has achieved to date, but also to what there is still room to do, in order for the island to win an important “bet” with overall benefits for all those involved in the industry. And ultimately an excellent experience for its visitors, offering them a unique hospitality experience.
He has been in Crete for the last few days and has been to many places, including Rethymno, enjoying the beauties and authenticity of local hospitality, while he also shared examples of authenticity and local hospitality, which he praised since they are the ones that will pave the way for the next day.
“Everything changes, just like tourism”
In an environment that is constantly changing, as he himself said, the island’s tourism “passes” through strategic planning, spatial planning, street planning, the utilization of technology and the connection of tourism with local production.
“Everything changes at all levels over the years. Tourism is part of society, so tourism changes as society changes. Crete is a blessed place. Tourism for Crete is a blessing and offers enormous possibilities. Of course, it is also one of the things that if you do it well, brings very nice things, if not, brings problems,” he pointed out.
Mr. Bouchalis emphasized that the great strength of Crete lies beyond its natural beauty, in its people. Asked about what it has achieved today and what it should focus on, he emphasized: “Many good things are happening in Crete and there are some not so good ones. However, I think that the authenticity of hospitality, the Cretan temperament and the levity is something that is unique in the world and part of the island’s DNA. As long as this exists in your place, this activity will yield not only financial rewards and material goods, but also the beauty of hospitality where someone comes, loves a place and becomes its ambassador wherever they go. This of course means that they buy its products, speak well of it and send their friends.”
The authenticity of Rethymno through an experienced “eye”
He was particularly impressed by the experiences he had in recent days in areas of Rethymno and the Municipality of Agios Vasilios, as well as in Loutro, which he shared and described as authentic examples of hospitality and local identity.
“Traveling around Crete, one sees authentic hospitality, products and services as they were in the past. Personally, I have been in tourism for 40 years and I remembered other times. Those beauties, when the volume of tourists was smaller,” he said.
He also made special mention of the areas, hangouts, and people he met and visited in Rethymno.
As he said: “Yesterday I went to a nice place, a traditional house called Rakidio in Sellia, in the Municipality of Agios Vasilios. I met very authentic people there and amazing hospitality. By chance I met Michalis again in the evening at the cafe, a new very beautiful little shop.”
Referring to Margarites, he highlighted the power of small everyday experiences to create an emotional bond with a place, which remains an important axis of experiential tourism. As he said: “I went up to Margarites, a village where I saw extraordinary things, people who make incredible clay things with all their culture and folklore. Then I went to a tavern and as I approached I smelled oregano. I went to the man and said I don’t know what I’m going to eat, but I want some of the oregano you have here and the man lovingly gave me a jar.”
As he noted, beyond the natural beauty of the island, Crete possesses a wealth that few regions in the world can demonstrate. “There is an incredible wealth and it must be exploited as best as possible. There are very few regions in the world that have so many weapons, with so much authenticity, and the great beauty is the simplicity and generosity of hospitality.”
“Let’s decide which product we want”
But “behind” the natural beauty and the unique experience of hospitality and authenticity, there are also parameters that should be on the agenda of discussions for the next day. Mr. Bouchalis emphasized that development needs a plan and clear direction.
Referring to Rethymno, he noted that it has special characteristics that differentiate it from the other prefectures of Crete. “Anyone who comes to Rethymno must be intentional, that is, want to come. If they want to go somewhere easily, they go to Chania and Heraklion, which have an airport and a large port. Anyone who comes here struggles a little to come. This is a good thing, because they really want it, and it is a bad thing because of course Rethymno does not get the numbers that the other prefectures get.”
However, as he said, the biggest challenge focuses on managing development and the quality of life of residents and visitors.
As he said: “When we have a large concentration of people in very small places, then various problems begin. I imagine some people have mentioned issues related to parking, traffic. Of course, when you bring 130 thousand rental cars to a small place, it is obvious that there is a problem, because the infrastructure has not changed”. And he added: “There are solutions and a place to do things. It is what we call planning development. The point is that we need to wake up and realize that there are solutions”.
Particularly characteristic was his reference to the discussion about the identity that each destination wants to have. In this context, he noted: “Crete has a lot to sell. Malia has a completely different product and we must first decide what product we want and which customers we want to reach.”
The answer to the above, as he emphasized, lies in cooperation and joint planning and as he said: “There should be a partnership of things, people, the community, and all these people should decide in a common way that we will move towards that.”
“Work smarter, not harder”
Referring at length to the need to utilize technology, he focused on the potential of technology that has already entered the tourism industry, since, as he said, it is a “one-way street” to simultaneously become a tool that will enhance productivity and the quality of services.
Specifically, as he already said: “to the extent that the visitor comes with Google Maps, sees the reviews, to the extent that he sees all the social media, there is this coexistence with modern forms and technology. Technology is everywhere and can help our productivity.”
As he explained, the goal is not to replace the human factor, but to support it mainly in sectors that are not “attractive” for staffing. “It should help how we work so that some hard jobs are taken away from people who don’t want to do them anyway. All these are tools that are coming and we should take advantage of them to work a little smarter, rather than harder.”
Furthermore, he noted: “We know that a kitchen is hard work, but there are tools that make this job much easier now. There are new ways of working, new processes that we can see. All of this is solved by research.”
The value of local produce
Mr. Bouchalis also referred to the connection between tourism and local production, pointing out that the authentic Cretan experience has not yet emerged within the framework of the existing possibilities.
As he emphasized: ” The tourist who comes and looks for the local food of Crete, which I am also looking for these days, I don’t find it so easily. And if I don’t find it, there is some issue in how I communicate the local product, where I find it, etc.”
He added that the goal is to create added value for everyone involved in the tourism chain and noted: “Let’s understand how we can create better added value for the island, better added value for the local – because if the local is not happy, he is nobody – better added value for the tourist.”
“There are some places that have a natural way of highlighting experiences – Crete is such a place par excellence”
He reiterated that Crete has all the elements to become an internationally recognizable destination of experiences, as it has a great range of possibilities from history, culture to gastronomy, products, people and the natural environment.
As he said: “Crete could have many people working from here, spending their winter here. It is a very beautiful place, it has a very good climate and it has many productive sources, products, great know-how.”
At the same time, he noted, speaking about history and folklore: “I am very impressed by the wealth of Crete, the wealth of its history. This can be exploited. It is called a Memorable experience and it is what touches your heart. For example, war museums could have many visitors and of course the descendants of the people who fought here. There are some places that have a natural way of highlighting this, these experiences, and Crete is overall such a place par excellence.”
“Finding the authentic roots of hospitality, using technology to aid production”
Finally, he added that the challenge remains today: “To find what the authentic roots of hospitality are, to use technology to help the production and co-production of value. To make the lives of our guests smarter and more beautiful. All of this must be used with love and offered to your guests with love, so that they too respond and come back again and say the best.”
Source: goodnet.gr