‘Switzerlands’ in Crete. Urban middle classes, tourism and forest in the Mediterranean (semi)periphery of Europe, 1928–1936

In the late 1920s, the incorporation of Crete into the tourism networks as an archaeological destination served to confirm the island’s orientation towards international markets and its economic, ideological and cultural attachment to European capitalism. From the moment that Crete became a regular cruising stop in the south-eastern Mediterranean, local actors and bodies sought to exert influence over the specific integration of the island into the tourism networks, particularly in light of the relatively limited economic impact of cruise tourism flows. In order to achieve this, they initiated the formulation of a tourism development plan for the island. One of the principal objectives of this plan was to establish a connection between the recreational activities undertaken in the forest and the economic expectations and political aspirations of the local community. Nevertheless, economic considerations and political objectives were insufficient to inform the formulation of a plan for the development of nature tourism. Indeed, the establishment of a tourism plan was a complex social and cultural process, closely tied to the reproduction of social relations on the island and the ways in which local society perceived its relations with European countries and the Greek national state.

Mediterranean climate · Middle East · Tourism · Tourist industry · Balkans: History, Politics, Society · Central European national history · European history and politics