Reality television portrayals of Kavos, Greece: tourists behaving badly

Abstract

Reality television programmes are an increasingly ubiquitous element of popular culture. While other forms of popular culture’s impact on tourists’ perceptions of destination image have been considered in the extant literature, the impact of reality television is under-researched. This article provides a qualitative thematic analysis of televisual media portrayals of the tourist destination of Kavos, on the Greek island of Corfu, whose economy is almost solely reliant upon an increasingly short high-summer season. Reality television portrayals of tourist behavior have generated negative publicity about the resort’s image that may negatively affect potential tourists’ perceptions of Kavos as a destination.