Urban Mega-Projects, Cultural Flagships and Their Effect on the Destination Image and Visitor Economy: The Case of the Waterfront of the Metropolitan Area of Athens

Tourism-led urban regeneration strategies, the role of cultural flagships and their sustainability have been discussed critically in various research works the last three decades; the “Guggenheim effect” and the power of iconic cultural venues have become familiar not only among policy makers and researchers but also to a wider audience. New cultural infrastructure and emblematic buildings are strongly associated with efforts to change the image and boost the fame of a city with the use of city branding techniques, often leading to dilemmas regarding their effectiveness and sustainability. Arguably there has been a downturn of this type of developments, and examples such the new Elbphilarmonie in Hamburg that was associated with delays and overspending and the cancellation of the plans to build a new Guggenheim museum in Helsinki show that there is a growing skepticism on this type of development. Still, many city strategies are prioritizing similar projects for the next years in order to boost tourism and to support real estate developments (Boix et al., 2017; Heuer and Runde, 2022). The waterfront of Athens is presented as an example: while still suffering from the effects of the financial crisis, the flagship building complex of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNFCC) on the Athenian waterfront which hosts the National Library and the Opera alongside with the Lipasmata and Agios Dionysios development, and the new real estate development at the old airport of Hellinikon create the conditions for Athens to develop as cultural destination. As the so-called “Athens Riviera” becomes a strong identity element for the whole city, Athens is also labeled as the “New Berlin” by both Greek and foreign media. Do these developments lead to a specific tourism image for Athens and under what conditions can they be connected? To what extent will the tourism experience of the visitors change in the future, and will it also prioritize culture and leisure? The aim of the paper is to critically discuss the contradictions within this discussion. While Athens has an opportunity to develop a new identity through the developments at its waterfront, a coherent strategy mission and goals towards this direction are still missing. The connection with city branding and the conditions under which these investments in the cultural sector will be sustainable on the long term are also discussed.