Determinants of profitability in the Greek tourism sector – assessing the effect of the crisis

This paper aims at revisiting the determining of profitability empirical literature using an extensive sample of Greek tourism enterprises for the 2005–2014 period. Specific emphasis is placed on the effect of the recent economic crisis and how it has affected the aforementioned determinants. The results of the paper broadly corroborate previous findings; however, one of the main results regarding the crisis is that capitalization seems to be affecting profitability in a negative way in the post-crisis period. Also, additional conclusions can be drawn from our results regarding economic policy: it is indeed the case that an important sector such as tourism could push growth through multiplier effects, but securing adequate financing at a lower cost is probably the key to this development.