All-inclusive Resorts, Cruises and Sustainability. The Perspective of the Corfu Community

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present and analyze two highly popular types of tourism, the all-inclusive resorts and cruises, and examine whether they can be considered as sustainable. It acknowledges the importance of the perception of the local community and its participation in the management and practice of tourism in their region. Moreover, it aims at presenting and understanding how local communities view the functioning of specific types of tourism in their area and to which degree modern communities, experiencing the intense presence of tourism, manage to comprehend the actual concept of sustainability and its application in the tourism sector. For that purpose a case study was undertaken on the island of Corfu, because of the strong presence of the all-inclusive resorts and cruises on the island and the importance of this area as a tourism destination. In order to get the perspective of the Corfu community regarding the presence of cruises and all-inclusive resorts on the island, questionnaires were distributed in a sample of locals. The data collected by the questionnaires enabled us to reach important conclusions regarding the perception of residents about the concept of tourism sustainability.