Heritage Tourism, Identity and Advertising of Religious Sites in Greece: towards a conceptualisation framework

Περίληψη

This article is an empirical study of the way the tourist perspective may contribute to the presentation of national identity. The paper illustrates the significance of the advertising material of the Creek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) for the preservation of an ’imagined community' from a heritage-sociological approach. In particular, it examines the presentation of heritage of outstanding value, sites nominated to the World Heritage List, where the Creek state defines Creekness by including Byzantine Heritage Sites. It is argued at theoretical level that there is actual dependence on symbolism associated with these sites by the state organisation’s activities -CNTO- in the creation of the tourist literature. The article concludes that CNTO has a complex role to fulfill in the multinational world we live.