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Experience

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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

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 36 artefacts
Central Macedonia
Mediterranean Palace Hotel artifact

Mediterranean Palace Hotel

Photograph
The refectory of the spa complex of Langadas artifact

The refectory of the spa complex of Langadas

Photograph
Hotel Alexander the Great, Langadas Thermal Town artifact

Hotel Alexander the Great, Langadas Thermal T...

Photograph
Hotel Aristotelis in Apollonia spa town artifact

Hotel Aristotelis in Apollonia spa town

Photograph
Apollonia Spa Town artifact

Apollonia Spa Town

Photograph
The Village Hotel: Polydendro, Imathia artifact

The Village Hotel: Polydendro, Imathia

Brochure
Edessa Xenia Hotel artifact

Edessa Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Edessa artifact

Edessa

Postcard
The Village Hotel: Kastania - Georgianoi - Rodochori, Imathia artifact

The Village Hotel: Kastania - Georgianoi - Ro...

Brochure
Swinging by the sea artifact

Swinging by the sea

Photograph
Onesiphorus Mosaic detail, Rotunda Thessaloniki artifact

Onesiphorus Mosaic detail, Rotunda Thessaloni...

Poster
Thessaloniki Greece 1958 artifact

Thessaloniki Greece 1958

Brochure
Thessaloniki 1956-57 artifact

Thessaloniki 1956-57

Brochure
Thessaloniki 1959 artifact

Thessaloniki 1959

Brochure
Thessaloniki 1960 artifact

Thessaloniki 1960

Brochure
Thessaloniki 1961 artifact

Thessaloniki 1961

Brochure
26th International Fair of Thessaloniki 1961 artifact

26th International Fair of Thessaloniki 1961

Brochure
Macedonia Thessaloniki 1977 artifact

Macedonia Thessaloniki 1977

Pamphlet
Commemorative medal of the 12th Festival of Greek Song artifact

Commemorative medal of the 12th Festival of G...

Memorabilia
Thessaloniki International Fair in the '50s artifact

Thessaloniki International Fair in the '50s

Postcard
Serres Xenia Hotel artifact

Serres Xenia Hotel

Photograph
Olympus Car Camp, Skotina Beach artifact

Olympus Car Camp, Skotina Beach

Photograph
Architectural Drawing
Agios Ioannis Lake at Serres artifact

Agios Ioannis Lake at Serres

Postcard
Chilled greetings from Lailias Skiing Centre artifact

Chilled greetings from Lailias Skiing Centre

Postcard
The White Tower in Thessaloniki artifact

The White Tower in Thessaloniki

Poster
Xenia Hotel in Drama artifact

Xenia Hotel in Drama

Photograph
Thassos Xenia Hotel "Alkyon" at Limenas artifact

Thassos Xenia Hotel "Alkyon" at Limenas

Photograph
Album
Mount Athos artifact

Mount Athos

Poster
Religious tourism on Mt. Athos artifact

Religious tourism on Mt. Athos

Leaflet
44th International Fair of Thessaloniki artifact

44th International Fair of Thessaloniki

Photograph
The tower of NTG in 1979 artifact

The tower of NTG in 1979

Photograph
The 30th International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki artifact

The 30th International Trade Fair of Thessalo...

Poster
Boutaris' Pavillion in HELEXPO artifact

Boutaris' Pavillion in HELEXPO

Photograph
Inauguration of the 31st Thessaloniki International Fair artifact

Inauguration of the 31st Thessaloniki Interna...

Photograph
Commemorative medal of the International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki artifact

Commemorative medal of the International Trad...

Memorabilia
Mikra State Airport - Terminal Building Extension artifact

Mikra State Airport - Terminal Building Exten...

Photograph