The Development of Virtual Tourism in the Island of Crete, Greece. A SWOT Analysis

The island of Crete, Greece has plenty of extremely beautiful natural landscapes and rich historical and cultural monuments which attract tourist from all over the world. The island is a popular tourism destination worldwide hosting millions of tourists annually while its tourism industry is prosperous. The current technological progress in virtual reality allows the development of virtual tourism complementarily to traditional physical tourism. The development of virtual tourism in Crete has been studied using SWOT analysis identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis assists in developing the best strategy for the future management of virtual tourism in the island. Taking into account the challenges that the tourism industry faces nowadays regarding overtourism and climate crisis the development of virtual tourism in Crete complementing physical tourism might mitigate these challenges. The present work could be useful to policy makers and to stakeholders of the prosperous tourism industry in Crete who should develop a strategic plan for the promotion of virtual tourism in the future enriching the tourism product offered to potential visitors.