Eureka! Institutional Repository

The purpose of this study is to make reader understand the definition of a tourist office and its historical retrospection over the centuries watching the evolution of how it started to how he arrived in its present form. In the second part the study analyzes the types of tourism that can be addressed by a travel agency and focusing on the analysis of the functions. This work also aims to investigate the rivals that a tourist office facing today and to investigate the market trends so reaching the prospective analysis of the tourist office. In addition, the present study will explore how a travel agency cooperates with a car rental company. To reach the end, a conclusion will be made if eventually there are ways for a tourist office to survive in the Greece of crisis. Methodology and research in my study took place through primary and secondary research. As regards the sources of information through secondary research information were gathered from Scientific Books, journal articles, Doctoral work, but also from official Internet pages relevant either to tourism or official statistical websites. As regards the primary sources of information of my work, interviews were taken from executives and externally tourist office employees. I also used a questionnaire survey that took place at two different times and administered both to respondents from internet and clients from travel agencies. The results that found and gathered through this work support that the economic crisis has a direct impact on holidays of Greeks by reducing overnight stays and tourists’ overall cost on their travels and by increasing their stay in relative and friends as well as the overall use of the internet on their reservations and their payments. The main point of my work is to help young men and women, also university students and tour operators who are concerned with the future of travel agencies understand the prospects, if finally they are one.