Tourism-driven spatial fixes and labour flexibilisation: The case of Greece

Abstract

Spanish

This article examines spatial fixes and their dialectical relationship with poor forms of flexible work, positioning touristification as a key contemporary form of capital's spatial fixes. Drawing on a multi-scalar methodological framework that integrates Gross Fixed Capital Formation with employment data, it offers a systematic account of shifting patterns of capital allocation between sectors and across regions of Greece, tracing how these may signal the consolidation of new spatial fixes. Findings confirm the Greek economy's enduring mechanism of extracting value primarily from the built environment, although post-2009 recovery has seen the emergence of new fixes pertaining to tourism-oriented structures in contrast to prior ones pertaining primarily on housing construction. In this context, labour markets adapt by intensifying labour devaluation, evident in the expansion of part-time and temporary employment in key sectors such as tourism and construction. Cross-regional variations indicate complementary expressions of a unified accumulation regime rather than divergent development paths. The article argues that spatial fixes and labour devaluation operate as intertwined crisis-management strategies. While tourism-led growth may temporarily bolster profitability, it does so by entrenching precarity and reinforcing uneven geographical development, thereby underscoring the limits of spatial fixes.

Keywords

Capital switching precarious labour Attica South Aegean rural touristification Marxist economic geography South EU crisis

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