Insights into luxury tourism: the case of Elounda, Crete

Abstract

Luxury tourism is one of the fastest-growing market segments in the hospitality and tourism industry. Luxury tourists are undoubtedly the target of many tourism businesses worldwide, as evidenced by the large investments made in recent years especially in the private sector, while the competition between luxury tourism destinations has been particularly intense. Elounda is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world for luxury vacations, having the largest concentration of 5-star hotels in Greece. The aim of this research is to investigate the current status and the characteristics of luxury tourism development in Elounda, as well as the prospects for the future. In order to meet the above objective, a qualitative research was conducted using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the managers of nine 5-star hotels in Elounda. Findings and discussion of this study are useful to tourism professionals, academic researchers and other stakeholders interested in luxury tourism.