The first step towards a modern concept in post-war guidebooks was taken by Fodor’s. American-Hungarian-born founder Eugene Fodor (1905-1991), a keen traveller and World War II hero, found pre-war travel guides boring and thought he could shake things up by focusing on modern life, everyday people, and the vibrant culture of each nation. Fodor’s guides began in Paris in 1949, but by 1950, they had moved to America and are still successfully published today. In 1960, the first Fodor’s for Greece was published, entitled Greece, measuring 18.5 x 12.5 cm and bound in a light-yellow cloth cover. The preface of the guide reflects the change in the country’s tourist image after a decade of intensive efforts by the Greek National Tourism Organisation (EOT):

“One of the most outstanding trends in European travel over recent years has been the rise of Greece as a highly satisfactory destination for tourists, both from Europe and America.”  

By the 1960s, state efforts and reconstruction policies had multiplied, among other things, the ways of approaching the country with a variety of transport options now available to the foreign tourist. Additionally, as noted in the foreword to the guide:

“There is a plethora of hotel and motel building, prominent among them those built and supervised by the National Tourism Organisation, in accordance with a long term plan for the development of tourism.”