Exploring the Power of Certification Systems in the Development of Hiking Tourism in Greece: The Case of Menalon Trail from the Demand-Side

Abstract

The issue of certification in the field of hiking tourism is crucial in the direction of creating interesting routes that will guarantee a high quality of hiking. The paper examines the issue of certification in the field of walking with the consumers’ perception on the subject, the assessment of the certification as a whole and of its individual criteria by the consumer as well as the extent to which the certification scheme can influence the consumers’ final decision and to help increase the number of visitors in a specific area. A special contribution to finding answers in relation to the above issues is the presentation of the survey conducted among the “Menalon trail” hikers, the first certified path in Greece with the European Ramblers Association’s Leading Quality Trail (LQT) certification scheme. The ultimate aim is to evaluate the criteria that the LQT certification system is comprised of from the consumer’s perspective and to link it to issues such as the profile and preferences of the individual hikers.