Leisure Hiking BeWilderness

Choosing the perfect hiking destination in Greece can be a bewildering experience for prospective visitors. The photos below could easily be from any of the Greek islands, or even places in Croatia, Spain, Portugal, Albania, and many other locations. This raises an important question for travel companies, prefectures, and official travel boards: How can we ensure that visitors choose the right location, return happy, and consider coming back for another hike with a different theme, story, and local flair?

How efficient are the common filters used to assist hikers in choosing their best match? Apart from the by default filters of elevation, length, difficulty, filters such as:

• Type: Coastal, altitude, high altitude…

• Vegetation: Lush & Green, volcanic, local encounters…

• Attractions: Wildflowers, views, historic sites….

• Suitability: Kid-friendly, stroller-friendly…

Help but do they truly differentiate options?

Let's suppose a visitor has already decided to go to Greece, and his main interest is hiking. Why would he choose Mt. Pelion over Corfu or Mani? He would need to search for each option individually to check for other decisive factors like accessibility, accommodation, rates, and so on, a very time-consuming process. Unless a friend recommended a specific location (and his friend has the same interests), the visitor might rely on a travel company that sells what its staff knows best or what's already in their portfolio. Alternatively, he could contact a travel advisor who understands that each person has different needs and wishes and has the energy, passion, and willingness to go deeper. But how many such advisors exist? I tried chat gpt but I was disappointed by its proposals. So how close can the industry match true client expectations?  Food for thought :-)