The imprint of tourism on the topology of maritime networks: evidence from Greece

Abstract

This paper examines the tourism information enclosed in the topology of the Greek maritime network (GMN) referring to a coastal country with many islands and a tourism orientation in its economy. The rationale of the analysis concerns the symbiotic relationship between tourism and transportation, which under the network paradigm defines the triplet of tourism–transportation network–economy, suggesting the criterion of the grouping of the available variables. The results verify the interacting role between these components for economic development, illustrate a gravity structure in the GMN, and validate the utility of network analysis in socioeconomic research. Overall, this article introduces network topology as a new variable in the study of tourism and transportation systems. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.