The Municipality of Kissamos is giving its Discover Kissamos tourism programme a digital makeover, launching a new mobile app, redesigning its tourism website, and introducing a printed guide linked to online content through QR codes.
The initiative aims to make it easier for visitors to explore one of western Crete’s most popular destinations before—and during—their stay.
A Pocket Guide to Kissamos
The upcoming Discover Kissamos app will serve as a digital travel companion, offering information on:
- beaches
- archaeological sites
- hiking routes
- local activities
- restaurants
- accommodation
- transportation
Visitors will also have access to interactive maps, multilingual content, offline functionality, and an updated calendar of local events. The municipality is also completely redesigning the official Discover Kissamos website, with improved navigation, richer content, and better search engine visibility.
Paper Isn’t Dead Yet
Recognising that not everyone wants to stare at a phone while standing on Balos Beach, Kissamos is also producing a new printed tourist map.
QR codes throughout the guide will connect visitors directly to additional digital information through the app and website.
Hotels, tourism businesses, and visitor information points will distribute the new maps.
Digital Tools Are Helpful. Destinations Still Do the Heavy Lifting.
Tourism has entered an age where every destination launches an app.
Not every destination has Balos, Falasarna, Polyrinia, dramatic mountain villages, and sunsets that routinely make people forget where they parked. One feature worth highlighting is offline functionality. Many of western Crete’s beaches and hiking routes have patchy mobile coverage, making downloadable information more practical than a website alone.
Technology can certainly help visitors find those places more easily. It just can’t replace the reason they came in the first place. Because the best feature in any tourism app is still the destination itself.
