PhD candidate
vtsilimpokou@uniwa.gr
Vasiliki Tsilimbokou was born in Athens and is a graduate of the Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts of the School of Graphic Arts & Artistic Studies of T.E.I Athens. He holds an honors Master’s degree in “Video Production, Audiovisual Media and Motion Graphics” from the Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts, School of Applied Arts and Culture of the University of West Attica. Her thesis was about a short film entitled “Attraction” and won a silver medal in the Video Art category of the Panhellenic Audiovisual Competition 2019-20 of the Hellenic Photographic Society. He also graduated with “Excellent” from the Pedagogical Training program (EPPAIK) of the Higher School of Pedagogical and Technological Education. She started her professional career in the field of photography as a member of the central press and media team of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games ATHENS 2004. She worked for more than a decade as a Photo Director, Photo Editor, Casting Director, Photo Production Manager and Photo Consultant in leading publishers houses of Athens, for the Greek edition of famous American magazines. He also has many years of experience as a freelance Photographer and Photo Consultant, with collaborations involving well-known newspapers, private educational institutions, book illustrations, property development companies, etc. He has participated in seminars of distinguished academics and artists such as Nikos Oikonomopoulos (permanent member of the Magnum agency) on the subject of “Photojournalism / Photo editing” at OEOA ATHENS 2004, of Stefanos Paschos entitled ARTEC workshop, of S.G.T.K.S. . of TEI of Athens et al. During her professional career she has been recognized and honored by various factors (festivals, publications, committees…) for her work.
From July 2022, she is a PhD candidate at the Department of Tourism Management of the School of Administrative Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Western Attica, supervised by Professor Dr. Grigorio Vlassa.
Title of Doctoral Dissertation: “Photographic evidence (2004-2022) as an influencing factor in the entrepreneurship of alternative tourism in Greece.”
Summary
Photographs, both as essential powerful tools of business strategy and as valuable advisors and visual records for the traveler, act as a “golden key” for tourism development. As an ever-evolving entity with pivotal global economies, tourism requires a systematic exploration of the human factor and its catalytic interaction with photographs.
The course of photographic testimony and its impact permeates diverse landscapes. The majority of images not only capture but also project. It communicates material and many cultural aspects, concepts, values, trends and attitudes of the outside world. This is the world the prospective tourist wants to taste or avoid. A healthy business activity also needs to listen to the same people.
The landscape of alternative tourism from 2004 to 2022 refers to the transformations of successive technological changes and to the wider socio-cultural becoming. Authentic or not, photographic narratives have marked not only the tourist but also the business. Through them, both have made decisions about their course, shaping the path that alternative tourism has drawn. The business sector must listen to this development effectively and beneficially for its future, both qualitatively and economically.
The image-traveler dichotomy is interrelated and of paramount importance to any business strategic endeavor. This didactic thesis seeks to investigate the visual reasons that played a decisive role in the formation of the alternative landscape and through the analysis of these findings, to clarify their impact on Greek tourism. The photographic narrative, like an imaginary “compass”, will be considered either as a guiding force or as a guided entity, prompting or subverting alternative paths. Finally, it aims to provide information on how photographic evidence (2004-2022) functioned as an influencing factor in shaping the business landscape of alternative tourism in Greece.
Photographic testimonies are living sources that demonstrate the flow. The better one translates and studies them, the closer one gets to where the modern traveler is going and what he is looking for.