Reality television portrayals of Kavos, Greece: tourists behaving badly

Abstract

Reality television programmes are an increasingly ubiquitous element of popular culture.While other forms of popular culture's impact on tourists' perceptions of destination image have been considered in the extant literature, the impact of reality television is underresearched. This article provides a qualitative thematic analysis of televisual media portrayals of the tourist destination of Kavos, on the Greek island of Corfu, whose economy is almost solely reliant upon an increasingly short high summer season. Reality television portrayals of tourist behavior have generated negative publicity about the resort's image that may negatively affect potential tourists' perceptions of Kavos as a destination.

Place Branding—The Challenges of Getting It Right: Coping with Success and Rebuilding from Crises

“…Many Mediterranean coastal destinations are being transformed into tourist-focused "strips" of large hotels (often transformed into all-inclusive resorts), bars, and restaurants that have no real relevance to the authenticity and heritage of the place in which they are located [54], and/or may be serving groups of tourists who behave irresponsibly, indulging in illegal and or risky behaviors such as excessive drinking, sexual activity, or drug-taking. In some cases, this aligns with the perceived brand image, for example 18-30 style holidays in places such as Kavos in Corfu, where the image is of a place where anything goes, and which is what attracts young people to the destination [55], yet which is at odds with the place brand identity communicated by Greece's National Tourism Organization [54].…”

Spiritual tourism on the island of Corfu: positive impacts of niche tourism versus the challenges of contested space

“…For this reason, the managers of the spiritual events began spreading the range of their special interest activities into the shoulder months, with a decision taken to move three of these spiritual festivals to September so there is a better spread of people throughout the entire season (S). This compares starkly with other destinations on the island, for example, Kavos, the 'party capital' of Corfu, where the season is seen to last for only around 10 weeks each year, and where the focus of tourist activities in the place has become reduced to one main bar-filled strip in the resort (Williams-Burnett et al, 2016). However, it was noted that in Arillas "July and August have always been overbooked -not only since spiritual tourism" (B).…”

“…Although relatively small, the island attracts specific tourism markets to various of its resort destinations. For example, Kavos, in the far south of the island, is known as a party destination that attracts mainly British young people (Williams-Burnett et al, 2016). The North East of the island has gained the epithet 'Kensington-on-Sea' due to the 'rich and powerful' visitors it attracts to the high number of luxury villas in the area (Booth, 2008).…”

Collisions: Negotiating tensions in a shared marketplace

“…Tensions in our study materially affected how the community was presented in the national press. External media attention may dramatically impact a place‐based market system and broaden and make more complex the scope of marketplace relationships when it is not clear who is responsible for negotiating tensions that arise (cf, for example, Williams‐Burnett, Skinner, & Fallon's, study of the effects of reality television on consumer perceptions of Corfu). Moreover, without collective intervention, place‐based negative impacts may affect the surrounding region (Ivanov & Stavrinoudis, ).…”