THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF TOURISM AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE CULTURAL HERITAGE

The natural and cultural heritage, peculiar and living cultures are great tourist attraction. The intensive and inefficient management of tourism and the association with this development can damage the nature, integrity and the dominant characteristics of these. In this way the ecological structure, cultural features and lifestyle of the host community can also be degraded, as is the experience of the visitor in this place. The architecture of tourism in Greece is "pressed" by overexploitation and the need to offer more and more benefits and amenities. It is therefore necessary to search for and formulate a new architectural example. An architecture that will look for the "less" form, the unintentional materiality and will aim at the minimal (environmental) footprint. The purpose of this lecture is to underline that the relevant legislation for the protection of sites, buildings and residential complexes did not have the expected results. The architecture of tourism in Greece, the morphological integration of new buildings into traditional architectural ensembles, overexploitation of natural resources and the alteration of the environment lead to the distortion of the truth about the concept of authentic and truly traditional architecture. The subject approach will be made through the presentation of examples.