Anyone who still thinks “sustainability” is just a trendy word missed SAEK Tourism Attica’s gathering in early May. The curriculum? Part lecture series, part hands-on eco-drill, all wrapped in a fine mesh of irony—because nothing says progress like students scrubbing a beach at the crack of dawn.
On May 12, 2025, SAEK Tourism Attica rolled out the red carpet for its star-studded event, “Sustainable Tourism: Best Practices – Circular Economy – Food Waste – Destination Sustainability.” High-level speakers from academia, hospitality, the WWF, and the school’s faculty gave their take. Sustainable tourism isn’t just about towel reuse cards in hotel bathrooms.
The local government didn’t miss the headline either. Deputy Mayor for Environment and Circular Economy, Akrivi Karoumbali, delivered her trademark brand of civic seriousness, while Deputy Mayor for Tourism, Viktoria Simitzi, reminded everyone that tourism can be something more than a promotional Instagram filter. Meanwhile, students received a crash course in topics such as food waste prevention programs and environmental management for hotels—if only someone had warned them that this would mean fewer buffet leftovers.
The next day brought the action to the coastline near the Agios Nikolaos wetland in Anavyssos. Under the hawk-eyed watch of Ira Theofilou, 58 students displayed Olympic-level zeal, bagging up 1,125 liters of beach debris. That’s enough to fill several bathtubs or, in hospitality terms, a particularly wild buffet night. As a reward, students unwound with a round of beach yoga and sampled treats prepared by the bakery and pastry department—a circle-of-life moment if there ever was one.
Experts Speak, Trash Talks Back: Sustainability by the Kilo
Let’s get to the heart of these righteous proceedings: the experts. Dr. Dimitris Prokopiou of SAEK Tourism Attica cornered the spotlight with hard facts about Mykonos’s struggles with capacity and sustainability. Dr. Giannis Spilanis, Director of the Aegean Sustainable Tourism Observatory, coolly dissected sustainability on a destination level, tossing out statements such as, “The target of sustainable development is the prosperity of the local community.” One can only hope the local seagulls were listening.
WWF Hellas’s Achilleas Plitharas didn’t flinch as he unveiled less-than-appetizing research: “On average, a hotel unit in Greece discards 867 kilos of food.” It’s the kind of figure that could spark a kitchen mutiny—or at least inspire some half-hearted eco-guilt come breakfast time. Most of that waste, he noted, goes into the process of food preparation and the infamous buffet display. So next time the eggs Benedict look dry, remember the price is measured in kilos tossed.
Fotis Kokkotos, representing SETE and reHORECA, drew attention to a different brand of neglect: “Environmental education is absent in both tourism professionals and citizens in Greece.” His bid to incorporate environmental management into tourism curricula may one day rescue Greece from its infamous plastic beach décor. He detailed the reHORECA actions and the sometimes Sisyphean role of local administration in waste management.
Rounding out the roster, Ms. Theofilou—doubling as a consultant for circular economy—emphasized the surprisingly overlooked role of actual human beings in the eco-equation. She explained sustainability, illustrated management practices for hotels and HORECA businesses, and hammered home this point: toss in a few good people, and every grand sustainability plan suddenly has a chance.
As the workshops gave way to beach cleanup, irony peeked around the corner. Students, now seasoned volunteers, picked, sorted, and bagged garbage, simulating the rigorous routines found—not in textbooks—but in actual hotels with genuine green policies. “Participating in environmental action like this is essential for understanding real-life hotel practices,” said one teacher, probably fighting back tears of joy or possibly hay fever from the coastal breeze.
The crowd didn’t just labor. After the cleanup, the wellness crew led a short yoga session by the sea, possibly in an attempt to stretch out existential dread or, more likely, as a clever ploy to keep the sandwich crumbs off the sand. The event concluded with pastries made on their own, an edible metaphor for “clean up your mess, then treat yourself.”
Επιμορφωτικές δράσεις για τον βιώσιμο τουρισμό στη ΣΑΕΚ Τουρισμού Αττικής
