Over the past few decades, the tourism sector has become the main pillar of the Greek economy, supporting it in times of financial crisis and creating new opportunities for local businesses. Hotels, travel agencies and other firms related to the tourism industry have all benefited from these developments and have successfully managed to attract customers from all over the globe. However, in order to retain these visitors and persuade them to revisit their destination, these businesses should address each individual customer’s needs, depending on factors such as their cultural background, nationality, age, preferences and many more. This process of intercultural marketing appears to be of high importance, especially in today’s globalized business environment, which is characterized by fierce competition. For many firms, and mainly smaller ones, technological advancements such as digital marketing and social media can facilitate the procedure of understanding consumer needs, so as to accurately shape the product or service provided to them. In such a context, the purpose of this dissertation is to present and analyze the ways in which intercultural marketing can have a positive effect on the different tourist groups visiting the area of Halkidiki. By highlighting the differences between the visitors in terms of nationality, preferences, age and other factors, and by categorizing them into relevant groups, the formation of a targeted marketing strategy can be facilitated, especially through the use of social media. For this reason, the dissertation is divided into six main sections, each one of which contributes to the research in a unique but substantial way. In the first section, a review of recent academic literature will be conducted, so as to present the most updated information on the topic and create a foundation for the collection and analysis of new primary data. More specifically, this part of the essay includes quantitative and qualitative data with respect to the tourism sector of Northern Greece, focusing mainly on the areas of Thessaloniki and Halkidiki, along with its contribution to the region’s economy and development. It also focuses on the qualities and characteristics of the different tourist groups visiting the area, in order to demonstrate the variety of visitors and their cultural differences. The section ends with the analysis of the term “intercultural marketing” and the presentation of the opportunities it offers to tourism-based businesses for personalization and adaptation to each group’s preferences and needs. In the second section of the dissertation, the main research question is presented, thus linking the tourism industry in Halkidiki with the concept of intercultural communication and its materialization through social media. The next part is comprised of the methodological tools and conceptual framework utilized in order to conduct the research. It is important to stress that both quantitative and qualitative data were used during the project, in the form of social media statistics on the one hand, and text analysis and interviews on the other. The data gathered is analyzed in the fourth section of the dissertation, while the fifth section includes a series of recommendations for the effective attraction of new tourists to the area of Halkidiki with the use of intercultural marketing techniques applied via social media. Finally, the sixth part of the essay describes the limitations of the current research, combined with suggestions for future researches and important issues for further debate.
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