Traditional products and crafts as main elements in the effort to establish a city brand linked to sustainable tourism: promoting silversmithing in Ioannina and silk production in Soufli, Greece

Abstract

City officials around the world are in search of a tourism model that will be linked to a positive impact on local communities, create jobs, and boost development in other sectors. Establishing an attractive city brand becomes part of this effort and research shows that the discussion on city branding methods has attracted attention over the last two decades not only on an academic level but also among practitioners (Metaxas 2010; Oliveira 2016). Recently, a shift can be witnessed in city marketing/branding practices toward a more inclusive and less finance-driven approach (Govers 2018; Deffner et al. 2020). Reviving traditional products and craftsmanship fits in this new approach. To which extent can local products influence the visitors to travel to specific destinations? How are traditional products linked to sustainable tourism development in smaller cities? Could the local products and crafts facilitate a positive city brand? Searching for a way to establish an identity that is based on a tradition in a strategy means that both local stakeholder groups and inhabitants should cooperate. This paper aims to explore how cities in Greece are promoting their traditional products and artisanal crafts to determine their contemporary identity. Two case studies have been selected: Soufli with its traditional silk production and Ioannina with its strong silversmithing legacy. A common element of the two cities is that recently two relevant thematic museums were initiated, leading to a discussion among local stakeholders regarding the revival and further promotion of these traditional production processes. The paper presents the results of qualitative and quantitative research; a visitor survey was conducted and interviews with stakeholder representatives/key informants were held in each city. The future perspectives and the sustainability of the process in the two cities are cross-compared and the common elements and differences are discussed critically, drawing on the results of the field research. The results of the interviews and the questionnaires showed that for both cities traditional craftsmanship form a key identity but also a vital element of the local economy. The paths that have been followed are different, but some main common elements have been detected and highlighted. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited part of Springer Nature.