The much-maligned Greek resort of Faliraki has employed two London-based PR agencies to transform its image – a move The Independent is calling “the greatest rebranding challenge of our times”.
As reported (extensively), the resort had a hard time last summer, with several Britons arrested for public exposure and the death of a 17-year-old British tourists who was stabbed in a bar brawl. But now bar crawls, once a signature of the resort, have been banned, and the bars that were considered “the most disruptive” have been closed down.
Peter Giakoumis, of Rhodes Tourism Promotion Board, told The Independent: “We began as a family resort and the reputation of the area has not been fair to the rest of the island. We are not going to stop young people coming to have a good time but we want to attract families and business people to the area.”
The two firms contracted are Doug Goodman Public Relations and The Saltmarsh Partnership. Other PR experts contacted by the newspaper predicted it would be a tough job to turn the resort’s image around; one said it would be a difficult task but admitted that other brands such as Skoda, Top Shop and Brylcreem had managed to “lose their negative perceptions”.
