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Imagining Greece: How Tourism Shaped a Nation
Imagining Greece is a digital exhibition that explores the evolution of tourism in Greece from the end of World War II to the closing chapters of the Cold War. The exhibition examines multiple aspects of the phenomenon by showcasing a wealth of textual and visual material curated from a wide range of state and private archival repositories and sources, including the Greek National Tourism Organisation, architectural firms, advertising agencies and both domestic and foreign press and periodicals. It is further enriched by an ongoing oral history project that captures firsthand experiences from specialists and the general public. We hope this exhibition will bring the history of tourism in Greece to life while deepening understanding of its profound impact—both on Greek society itself and on the millions of international visitors whose journeys have helped transform Greece into one of the world's most beloved destinations.

Our Team
We are an interdisciplinary team with expertise spanning history, visual culture, design studies, architectural history, cultural heritage, and digital humanities. Led by Professor Eirini Karamouzi (Principal Investigator) and Dr Mary Ikoniadou (Co-Investigator), our team includes:

Dr Stavros Alifragkis and Dr Emilia Athanasiou (Scientific and Artistic Curators, Lead Researchers), Dr Christos Christidis (Special Advisor), Despina Tsilimagkou (Digital Humanities Director), Dr Marina Emmanouil, Dr Metaxia Papageorgiou and Dr Aphrodite Kamara (Researchers). Our work has been generously supported by the Onassis Foundation, the National Bank of Greece and Research England. We are honoured to have the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and the Greek Ministry of Tourism as our patrons, and we work closely with Greece’s National Historical Museum.

Our Goal
Our goal is to make Imagining Greece a widely accessible digital exhibition that serves as a valuable resource for schools, universities, tourism professionals, and the public in Greece and beyond. We aim to promote a deeper understanding of tourism as a crucial element of Greek culture, economy, politics, and society. The exhibition is organised around four thematic experiences: Picture, Travel, Discover, and Remember. Each theme presents carefully chosen artefacts in an intuitive, easy-to-explore journey. Visitors will explore a rich collection of promotional materials, including advertising, audio-visual culture, periodicals, commercial and government sources, tourist guides, tourism infrastructure and architecture, cultural artefacts from folklore, feasts and festivals, leisure activities, books about Greece, souvenirs, vacation photographs, and postcards. The entire spectrum of Greece as a tourism destination is accessible through the thematic experiences, the interactive map, or the chronological timeline.

The Future of Imagining Greece
Imagining Greece will continue to grow with new artefacts, and we welcome your contributions. If you have relevant materials to share, please contact us at: info@imagininggreece.com

Legal Notice / Disclaimer
Every reasonable effort has been made to trace and contact the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this digital exhibition, ‘Imagining Greece: How Tourism Shaped a Nation, 1945-1989’, and to obtain their permission for the use of copyrighted material. We apologise for any omissions in acknowledging copyright. If you own the copyright for any material used on our website and believe it infringes upon your rights, please contact us directly at info@imagininggreece.com

Acknowledgements
We thank the numerous institutions and private individuals who have contributed their valuable archival materials to this project:

Benaki Museum’s Photographic Archives Department, Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, Greek Film Archive, Greek National Tourism Organisation, Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive, Hellenic National AudioVisual Archive - Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, Hellenic Touring Club, Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece – National Historical Museum, Historical Archive of the National Bank of Greece, Constantinos A. Doxiadis Archives, ‘Konstantinos G. Karamanlis’ Foundation, The Library of the Hellenic Parliament, Modern Greek Architecture Archives of the Benaki Museum, National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, Neraida Floating Museum - John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, Olympic Airways Workers Cultural Center, Philatelic Postal Museum, Spyros Vassiliou Archive - Dominum Artifex NPO, The Alpha Bank Art Collection, The Ghika Gallery - Benaki Museum.

Dimitris Antonakakis – Atelier 66, Archimidis & Eleni Athanassiou, Tasos Biris – Tassos Biris Architectural Firm, Vassilis Bogakos, Vassilis Giannakis, Panos Haratzopoulos, Erifyli Hontolidou, Maro Kardamitsi-Adami, Yannis Karlopoulos, Kostas Katsigiannis, Konstantinos Lyssaridis – ETETH SA, Eirini Philippides, Marina Philippides – AMK Architecture + Design, Jenny Perivolari, Christos Rallis & Georgia Sovatzoglou, Vassia Stylianidi – WOBI Architects, Vaggelis Stylianidis - Stylianidis Vaggelis Architects, Nicos Valsamakis – N. Valsamakis Architectural Firm, Ioannis Vikelas – Vikelas Architects.

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Picture
Travel
Discover
Remember
Displaying 49 artefacts
Xenia Network
Arta Xenia Hotel artifact

Arta Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Ioannina Xenia Hotel artifact

Ioannina Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Karpenissi Xenia Hotel artifact

Karpenissi Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Missolonghi Xenia Motel artifact

Missolonghi Xenia Motel

Photograph
Xanthi Xenia Hotel artifact

Xanthi Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Postcard
Edessa Xenia Hotel artifact

Edessa Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Paliouri Xenia Motel artifact

Paliouri Xenia Motel

Photograph
Makriammos Beach Xenia Motel, Thassos artifact

Makriammos Beach Xenia Motel, Thassos

Postcard
Paros Xenia Hotel artifact

Paros Xenia Hotel

Postcard
Port Facilties at Igoumenitsa artifact

Port Facilties at Igoumenitsa

Photograph
Evripos Tourist Pavilion artifact

Evripos Tourist Pavilion

Photograph
Ouranoupolis Xenia Motel artifact

Ouranoupolis Xenia Motel

Photograph
Ypati Thermal Springs Xenia artifact

Ypati Thermal Springs Xenia

Photograph
Heraklion Xenia Hotel artifact

Heraklion Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Inauguration of the οrganised beach in Vouliagmeni artifact

Inauguration of the οrganised beach in Voulia...

Newsreel
Athenians rush to the coasts of Attica in 1961 artifact

Athenians rush to the coasts of Attica in 196...

Newsreel
Inauguration of the Kastoria Xenia Hotel artifact

Inauguration of the Kastoria Xenia Hotel

Newsreel
Inauguration of the Acronafplia Xenia Hotel artifact

Inauguration of the Acronafplia Xenia Hotel

Newsreel
Inauguration of 'Dionysos' restaurant artifact

Inauguration of 'Dionysos' restaurant

Newsreel
Florina Xenia Hotel artifact

Florina Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Andritsaina Xenia Hotel artifact

Andritsaina Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Xenia hotel in Portaria artifact

Xenia hotel in Portaria

Photograph
Postcard
Hotel du Lac Xenia in Kastoria artifact

Hotel du Lac Xenia in Kastoria

Photograph
Honeymooning at the Hotel du Lac artifact

Honeymooning at the Hotel du Lac

Photograph
Akronafplia Xenia Hotel in 1961 artifact

Akronafplia Xenia Hotel in 1961

Photograph
Postcard
Chios Xenia Hotel artifact

Chios Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Samos Xenia Hotel artifact

Samos Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Vytina Xenia Motel artifact

Vytina Xenia Motel

Photograph
Volos Xenia Hotel artifact

Volos Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Serres Xenia Hotel artifact

Serres Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Kalamata Xenia Motel artifact

Kalamata Xenia Motel

Photograph
Guesthouses near the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus artifact

Guesthouses near the Ancient Theatre of Epida...

Photograph
Tourist Pavilion in Epidaurus Archaeological Site artifact

Tourist Pavilion in Epidaurus Archaeological...

Photograph
Tourist Pavilion in Eretria 1959 artifact

Tourist Pavilion in Eretria 1959

Photograph
Drawing
Patmos Xenia Hotel artifact

Patmos Xenia Hotel

Postcard
Xenia Network in 1991 artifact

Xenia Network in 1991

Pamphlet
Xenia Network in Central Greece 1971 artifact

Xenia Network in Central Greece 1971

Brochure
Xenia Hotels Griechenland 1966 artifact

Xenia Hotels Griechenland 1966

Brochure
Xenia Network in Halkidiki 1970 artifact

Xenia Network in Halkidiki 1970

Brochure
Akronafplia Xenia Hotel in the 1980s artifact

Akronafplia Xenia Hotel in the 1980s

Photograph
Xenia Hotel in Drama artifact

Xenia Hotel in Drama

Photograph
Akronafplia Xenia Brochure of 1965 artifact

Akronafplia Xenia Brochure of 1965

Brochure
Igoumenitsa Xenia Motel artifact

Igoumenitsa Xenia Motel

Photograph
Komotini Xenia Hotel artifact

Komotini Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Mykonos Xenia Hotel artifact

Mykonos Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Skyros Xenia Hotel artifact

Skyros Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Thassos Xenia Hotel "Alkyon" at Limenas artifact

Thassos Xenia Hotel "Alkyon" at Limenas

Photograph
Album
Kythnos Xenia Spa Hotel artifact

Kythnos Xenia Spa Hotel

Photograph
Hotel Leto, Mykonos 1951 artifact

Hotel Leto, Mykonos 1951

Photograph