Eureka! Institutional Repository

This thesis deals with the topic of tourism education and more specifically whether it can contribute to the tourism development of a country. Initially, reference is made to the general characteristics of tourism education as well as to the various ways of teaching it, followed by extensive reference to its positive and negative characteristics in the Greek region. The survey conducted in the present study revealed that hotel managers consider staff training a very competitive advantage in the tourism market. Thus, all the principals interviewed stated that they are implementing a staff training program, either in the form of seminars or in the form of hands-on training. Also, almost all managers believe that tourism education contributes greatly to the tourism development of a country. However, the improvement of the existing tourism education in our country is largely considered necessary in order to promote the tourism product as well as to generate higher profits. in Greece and in the tourism industry, while there is scope for improving existing tourism education in our country. Finally, the dominant factors that can improve existing tourism education in Greece are the financing of EU tourism education programs, tourism businesses as well as government agencies.