A strategy for a sustainable tourism development of the Greek Island of Chios

Despite several advances to comprehend tourism impacts and its relationship with sustainable development challenges, there is still a lack of worldwide examples of strategies for sustainable tourism development of destinations. Particularly in less developed European regions, tourism development strategies are still poorly implemented, emphasising the need to support them towards more balanced policies and actions that can effectively promote a sustainable tourism destination. The Island of Chios in Greece faces several challenges in order to develop such a strategy. Besides being a region particularly affected by the financial and refugee crisis of the last years, the Island does not have a Land Use Plan approved so far or any Strategy or Plan for Tourism. As such, the main goal of this paper is to propose a planning framework for sustainable tourism development of the Island of Chios considering the United Nations Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. To accomplish such goal, the research involved a serious of different steps through an action-research approach based on a three-month internship at the local municipality. The qualitative and quantitative methodology was developed with the input of local key stakeholders and it enabled to identify the critical need for developing a sustainable tourism strategy for the territory. Results show that Chios is a destination with potential growth and increased competitiveness and attractiveness for visitors but major steps would have to be taken for the establishment of a participatory sustainable tourism strategic plan that could involve all the stakeholders and promote a sustainable growth and a more balanced development of the region.