Food, Tourism & Leisure

About CoEFTL

“Research, education and outreach designed to facilitate growth and development in agriculture, food and diet, tourism and hospitality, culture and sports, as important aspects of personal and social life and crucial sectors of the Greek economy”

Overview

Resting on two of the main pillars of the Greek economy, i.e. the agri-food sector and the tourism and leisure sector, the Center of Excellence in Food, Tourism & Leisure promotes the intellectual, pedagogical and outreach infrastructure necessary to make Greece a leading academic innovator in these vital sectors.

Through fostering innovative research, teaching, and public outreach in the areas of food, tourism and leisure by means of targeted academic programs, fellowships, internships, lectures, policy papers, media productions, symposia and conferences, the CoEFTL seeks to help propel Greece’s economic growth.

Mission

The CoEFTL seeks to generate high-quality scientific output, to develop and support curricula and programs offering innovative insights in the food, tourism and leisure sectors, contributing to the Greek economy.

Impact

The CoEFTL reaches out to various stakeholders at different levels, such as consumers, businesses, organizational and social stakeholders, in order to:

Promote scientific excellence & build relevant research capacity

Undertake educational activities & foster teaching excellence

Leverage competitiveness and sustainability in the food, tourism and leisure sectors

Develop public policy recommendations & advocacy

Contribute to the public discourse on social perspectives of food, tourism and leisure.

Our Vision

To become the catalyst in food, tourism and leisure research innovation and advancement in Greece and beyond, bringing together researchers, educators, regulators, industries and society at large.

ATHANASIOS KRYSTALLIS, PHD

Executive Director of the Center of Excellence
on Food, Tourism and Leisure

The CoEFTL builds a rich academic environment in which scholars, students and external partners collaborate to generate knowledge, develop cutting-edge theory and create practical and effective solutions in Greece and beyond.

By uniting academic and professional communities and their skills, resources and capabilities, the CoEFTL seeks to become the prominent source of innovative research and thought leadership in its areas of interest.

Focal Areas

The American College of Greece boasts extensive multi-disciplinary expertise in food, tourism and leisure, including academic programs at multiple levels—undergraduate through Deree and graduate and executive through the Alba Graduate Business School. In addition, ACG offers programs in directly related fields, such as management, international relations, communication, psychology and the arts, providing students with several avenues for interdisciplinary academic work.

Food, Tourism, and consecutively, the Leisure industry constitute significant backbones of the global economy contributing over 10% of the world’s GDP and providing over 10% of jobs globally. At the same time, these sectors face significant social and environmental challenges.

In Greece, tourism accounts for around 13% of the GDP employing more than 360.000 people. According to the Federation of Hellenic Food Industries, the Greek Food and Beverages sector in 2019 consisted of 15,226 enterprises, directly employing 125,000 people, presenting a total revenue of €15 billion and an export value of €5 billion (16.2% of total Greek exports’ value, or 78% of Greek exports’ value to the EU).

Recognizing the fundamental importance of food and tourism to the Greek economy and its potential for growth (as noted in the updated McKinsey 2023 report), the CoEFTL aims to act as a catalyst for economic growth and industry expansion and development.

Employing a holistic view of the food, tourism, leisure and sport industries, the Center combines theory from various disciplines with practice and marries industry-specific education and innovation with public policy to achieve maximum impact.

Ethics

We abide by the rules for ethical research, as these are expressed and safeguarded by the ACG Institutional Review Board and we commit to following meticulous, updated, responsible research protocols.

CoEFTL is part of the ACG150 initiative, a visionary strategic plan to consolidate, support and expand ACG’s activities in performing research, creating technology and fostering innovation, as well as to leverage educational programs for economic and social impact. To accomplish these goals, ACG 150 established the Institute for Hellenic Growth and Prosperity (IHGP) housing Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in areas including Food, Tourism & Leisure (CoEFTL), Logistics, Shipping & Transportation (CoELST), sustainability (CoES) as well as the Research, Technology & Innovation Network (RTIN).