Assessing the Tourism Footprint in Dodecanese Complex, Greece – An Islands’ Typology Approach

Tourism activity is by principle tightly intertwined with the distinct territorial context of each single destination. That said, the UNWTO anticipated surge in tourism flows, projected to reach 1.8 billion at a global scale by 2030, raises severe concerns as to the preservation of relevant territorial resources in popular but also emerging destinations, particularly those located in vulnerable and geographically-confined island regions. However, despite the nearly five decades of research and policy efforts in multi-level decision-making environments, highlighting the intricate relationship between tourist development and its territorial context, a certain deficit still exists with regards to the deployment of quantitative methods for fully assessing the territorial implications of tourism and informing sustainable tourism planning endeavours. Within such a context, this research advocates for the integration of territorial assessments of tourism into relevant planning exercises and policy decisions for attaining sustainability objectives in destinations, with a specific focus on insular regions. As such, the Dodecanese islands’ complex in the South Aegean Region, Greece is considered, namely a region reputable for its diverse natural/cultural and tourism wealth as well as the discrete geopolitical importance in the eastern border of Greece. By use of spatial analysis tools and a set of indicators quantifying the spatial impacts of tourism, the study identifies clusters of islands according to a certain typology; thus initiating a vital discussion and providing evidence-based results useful for incorporating the territorial dimension in effective tourism planning in the Dodecanese islands’ complex.