The Island Odysseus Returned to After 20 Years... Greece Creates Mythological Tourism Route

Ithaki Benefits Most, Even Without Filming

Greek Reservations Up 18%... Impact Spreads to Sicily

Prime Minister Hails "A Bridge Between Cultural Heritage and Modern Creativity"

The Greek island of Ithaki, which Odysseus so desperately wished to return to, is currently enjoying a tourism boom thanks to the success of the film 'Odyssey.'

Ithaki Beach View in Greece. Pixabay

On August 25 (local time), the U.S. political media outlet Politico Europe reported that the Greek government and tourism industry have been working to convert the attention generated by director Christopher Nolan's film into tourism revenue. The film is currently a box office hit, having earned approximately 1.45 billion dollars (about 2 trillion won) worldwide.

Ithaki is traditionally regarded as the homeland of the protagonist Odysseus. Although the movie was not filmed on the island, there are statues of Odysseus and Homer, and boats bearing names such as Telemachus and Calypso sail around the area. The French office of the Greek National Tourism Organization hosted a local press tour from May 29 to June 5, prior to the film’s release. Based on this tour, the French daily Le Figaro published a 162-page special magazine titled 'In the Footsteps of Odysseus.'

The film was shot at several locations on the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece, including Nestor’s Cave, Voidokilia Beach, Methoni Castle, and Acrocorinth. The tour route also covers legendary sites, such as the islet of Cranae—where Paris, prince of Troy, was said to have spent his first night with Helen after fleeing Sparta—and the island of Pephnos, which is famous for the myth of Zeus transforming into a swan to meet Leda.

The Peloponnese region is developing the ‘Odyssey Route: Homer’s Peloponnese,’ connecting filming locations with sites from ancient myth. Plans are underway for tourist signposts and a dedicated website, with the public launch targeted for November.

Thanasis Mikelongonas, Deputy Governor of Tourism for the Peloponnese, explained, “Our goal is to link the settings of Homer’s epics with the filming sites, and to broaden the tourist routes across the mythological landmarks of the entire Peloponnese.”

Movie still from "Odyssey." Photo by AP Yonhap News.

The travel agency ‘easyJet Holidays’ announced that in the first week of August, bookings for vacation packages to the Greek mainland and islands increased by 18 percent compared to the previous week. Reservations for Corfu rose by 28 percent, and searches for the Peloponnese were up by 12 percent. The local tour company ‘Unforgettable Greece’ revealed that bookings jumped by 76 percent from last year and launched 22 new themed packages. The boom is spreading beyond Greece, with reservations for Sicily in Italy—one of the filming locations—rising 8 percent.

On July 27, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a video call with director Nolan, expressing his gratitude, saying, “You have helped to generate global interest in ancient Greek culture,” and, “Filming in Greece served as a bridge between cultural heritage and modern creativity.” Deputy Governor Mikelongonas commented that there are plans to translate the heightened interest into tourism revenue, but he also cautioned, “Expectations may exceed reality.” He added, “We have gained publicity worth millions of euros, and it’s up to us to make the most of it.”

However, Angelos Chaniotis, professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University in the United States, pointed out that it will be difficult to sustain interest if the focus is only on short-term results. He explained, “Although there have been instances where films brought attention to Greece as a new travel destination, the effect often proved short-lived.” He stressed that sustaining the momentum will require a long-term strategy: internationalizing educational programs, strengthening archaeological administration, and improving the ways in which sites and museums are presented and exhibited.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.