Following the participation in the London World Travel Market, one of the world’s largest travel shows that holds meetings with airlines and travel firms around the world, Cyprus sets out to promote tourism beyond the sun and sea.
The rebrand is apart of a 10-year strategy for Cyprus tourism. Currently, the plan seeks to welcome visitors aged over 50, coming away from the traditional tourism Cyprus usually offers. Cyprus will also focus on promoting short breaks and welcoming visitors from markets such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East, America, China, and Japan.
Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios has revealed a potential collaboration between Greece, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan to offer the public joint package holidays.
Perdios comments on the plan “The extension of the tourism season is a dream for us. It was not possible to pursue such a dream without the solid foundation needed,”
Adding “Over the last decade, we established the sun and sea model, which can now serve as the backbone that allows us to go for the more detailed and special forms or tourism. Already this year we will have an increase in winter arrivals of around 10% on last year.”
The strategy will also include the promotion of specific forms of tourism such as cruises, cycling, sports, health, and wellness.
Preparation for Tourism
Perdios commented that Cyprus is fully ready for an increase of tourism year-round as infrastructure has been improved, hotels renovated, new projects such as marinas and a casino resort will be ready in 2021. All these aspects set the scene for new tourism all year round.
Despite recent travel setbacks such as the collapse of Thomas Cook many new deals and contracts with tour operators have been signed to maintain the current UK tourism market.
General Manager of the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprise Chrisemily Psilogeni commented “We have managed to sign deals with smaller tour operators, mainly operating online, who have great potential to grow. These deals will close the gap created in the UK market by Thomas Cook’s collapse.”
Due to the stability and reoccurring figures from the UK tourism market focus is able to shift onto other countries for the upcoming seasons with special attention to the Netherlands, France, Scandinavia, and the Arab countries.
In fact, to meet demand Ryanair has launched new routes from Cyprus to locations such as Poland with weekly services set to run from March.
Overall Benefits for Cyprus
As more tourists visit the island of Cyprus it benefits the overall economy of Cyprus creating a secure location not only for holidaymakers but a stable market for businesses, investors, growth, and development.
For investors, the increase and diversity of tourism all year round provides the opportunity to invest in holiday homes that holidaymakers can rent. Investors are able to purchase luxury seafront villas in sought after locations such as Ayia Napa near the upcoming Ayia Napa Marina. Investors can also benefit from the Cyprus Investment Program when entering the real estate business.
