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Abstract
The Cretan tourism sector has been characterised by a large and rapid growth from 1970 to
2000 and has gone on the primary industry of the island. Despite the fact that this growth has
seemed stagnant over the last few years, tourism is still of vital importance for the local
economy. Agricultural industries are strongly linked with tourism activities and usually derive
numerous benefits from them. Understanding tourists’ opinions and demands plays a crucial
role in implementing appropriate and sustainable future agricultural offer strategies on the
island in the future. As several studies have previously indicated, the current global economic
and financial crisis has deeply cut household expenditure and 2009 has been predicted to be a
difficult year for the tourism industry.
This research was carried out in the western prefecture of Crete, Chania, which is
characterised by its high number of mass-tourism infrastructures located in the northern coast
and by its mountainous rural areas delaying development in the inland and in the southern
part of the prefecture.
The aim of this work is first, on the basis of data on tourists’ attitudes and preferences
compiled in a specific face-to-face survey conducted in August 2009, to report on the profile
of the tourists that have spent their holidays in Crete; then, regarding their local product
consumption and preferences, to understand the way tourism has helped Cretan agricultural
demand and try to make the future management of the sector easier. Finally, an exploratory
study on the short-term economic crisis effects will be undertaken by the authors in order to
uncover changes in the nature of tourists’ spending patterns and trends.