Menu
open nav menu
Menu
close nav menu

Experience

Timeline

About us

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. Please note that all images and materials remain the property of their respective copyright holders, and may not be reproduced, distributed, or otherwise used without their prior permission.

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.

close nav menu
Picture
Travel
Discover
Remember
Displaying 27 artefacts
Archimedes & Eleni Athanassiou Private Collection
Honeymooning at the Hotel du Lac artifact

Honeymooning at the Hotel du Lac

Photograph
Morning bath at Malia artifact

Morning bath at Malia

Postcard
Lake Voulismeni at Agios Nikolaos artifact

Lake Voulismeni at Agios Nikolaos

Postcard
Minos Beach Hotel Bungalows at Agios Nikolaos artifact

Minos Beach Hotel Bungalows at Agios Nikolaos

Postcard
Test Artifact Upload artifact

Test Artifact Upload

Annual Αlmanac
The new Hydrotherapy Centre at Ypati Mineral Springs artifact

The new Hydrotherapy Centre at Ypati Mineral...

Postcard
The Bay of Paleokastritsa in Corfu artifact

The Bay of Paleokastritsa in Corfu

Postcard
Sunset at Zakynthos artifact

Sunset at Zakynthos

Postcard
Hotel Korkyra, Corfu artifact

Hotel Korkyra, Corfu

Postcard
The Monastery of Paleokastritsa in Corfu artifact

The Monastery of Paleokastritsa in Corfu

Postcard
Agathonos Monastery in Ypati artifact

Agathonos Monastery in Ypati

Postcard
Marmaras Beach in Halkidiki artifact

Marmaras Beach in Halkidiki

Postcard
Camping Europa at Marmaras Beach in Halkidiki artifact

Camping Europa at Marmaras Beach in Halkidiki

Postcard
The fallow deer sculpture in front of the Prefecture at Rhodes artifact

The fallow deer sculpture in front of the Pre...

Postcard
Via dei Cavalieri in the city of Rhodes artifact

Via dei Cavalieri in the city of Rhodes

Postcard
Bust of a goddess from the Sanctuary of Kleo in Amphipolis artifact

Bust of a goddess from the Sanctuary of Kleo...

Postcard
Platamon Castle in Pieria artifact

Platamon Castle in Pieria

Postcard
Kalabaka Xenia Motel artifact

Kalabaka Xenia Motel

Postcard
Temple of Apollo at Bassae artifact

Temple of Apollo at Bassae

Postcard
Souvenir of Platamon artifact

Souvenir of Platamon

Postcard
A view of Platamonas village with the medieval castle in the background artifact

A view of Platamonas village with the medieva...

Postcard
Clay figurine of Athena Alkidemos at Pella artifact

Clay figurine of Athena Alkidemos at Pella

Postcard
Statue of Podaleirios from the Great Thermae at Dion artifact

Statue of Podaleirios from the Great Thermae...

Postcard
The Procession of the Venerated Relics of Agios Spyridon in Corfu artifact

The Procession of the Venerated Relics of Agi...

Postcard
The Venerated Relics of Agios Spyridon in Corfu artifact

The Venerated Relics of Agios Spyridon in Cor...

Postcard
The Palace of Saints Michael and George artifact

The Palace of Saints Michael and George

Postcard
Hotel Castello at Corfu artifact

Hotel Castello at Corfu

Postcard