Management Accounting Practises of Tourism Organizations: The Case of the Greek Show Caves

Abstract

The Show Caves are major tourist attractions in Greece, attracting over half a million visitors per year. They are unique in that they are archaeological sites and must be preserved as national monuments but at the same time they function as modern business enterprises. This paper explores the role of man- agement accounting in the Show Caves. The paper is motivated by the lack of management accounting research in the tourism sector in general. The analysis is based on a case study of four of the eight Show Caves that are currently in operation in Greece. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, informal discussions and document analysis. Drawing on ideas from New Institutional Sociology (NIS) we argue that the operations and decision making, includ- ing the role of management accounting information in the Caves are shaped by the need for the Caves to legitimize themselves as national monuments and at the same time innovate to remain competitive in a changing tourism environ- ment. The ownership of the majority of the Caves by the Municipal Councils also made the operations and decision making of these Caves subject to local politics.