Last month the buzz was about the significance of promoting “Greek Breakfast”. It seems that people have caught on to the concept and they have started to talk about it and have gone a step further to talk about the importance of gastronomy for the tourism product of Greece.
Just last week the annual chief awards were given to the top chiefs and restaurants in Greece at a event at the Megaron Mousikis. Those who had the opportunity to participate had the chance to taste some exquisite dishes. No wonder there is a large percentage of tourists who travel the world with gastronomy in mind, and we can say that Greece has a plethora of flavors ans aromas – some well known and some undiscovered, coming from the depths of ancient Greece. This is an arena that Greek tourism would have a unique footage.
Another thing which we can capitalize and is unique, came as pleasant surprise to our attention from an article written in Kathimerini, and was the fact that an increasing number of that university students in the USA are taking Greek language courses. The article went on by interviewing both faculty and students.
From the faculty side we realized that they are using contemporary methods and tools to deliver their knowledge, such as YouTube and other social media, making it fun and easy to learn Greek, in contrast to the classical methods used in Europe, as a result these chairs are on the declining path.
On the other side, the students find it interesting and easy to learn Greek. Some even used this knowledge to understand the terminology of other disciplines. What was the most impressive of all was the fact that they were proud of taking Greek language courses and that it gave them a competitive edge in the eyes of their schoolmates!
From our research we also found out that the vast majority of American universities have what is called “Greek Life”. The purpose of “Greek Life” as taken from “The Florida State University”, is “to unify and organize groups that seek to promote diversity and cohesion on campus and in the community, encourage cooperation and harmony among member organizations and other organizations on campus, become active within our community, provide educational programming and service for member organizations and the student body”. Similar are the purpose statements of all universities that have “Greek Life”.
This is a major sleeping capital for Greece and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, especially now that the Minister Mr. Geroulanos has initiated a campaign, which started by visiting the States, in an effort to revitalize the Greek Spirit and the inflow of tourists from the States.
