Ambitious national tourism strategy already in motion

Cyprus’ national tourism strategy, containing a set of predefined goals for each year until 2030, is already being implemented, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Savvas Perdios, said on Tuesday.

Addressing the 42nd Annual Hotel Conference, organized by the Cyprus Hotels Association (CHA) in Nicosia, Perdios said that the role of the Deputy Ministry is to fight for the country’s “most important sector”, as tourism accounts for 20 per cent of GDP.

Cyprus’ ten-year tourism strategy 2020-2030 aims at a 30 per cent increase in income and a rise in the number of visitors from 4 million to 5.15 million in 2030.

The strategy seeks to turn Cyprus into an all-year destination with the promotion of not only the coastal areas but mountain regions and the countryside.

According to Perdios, there is a significant increase in tourism arrivals from Israel and an “interesting growth” in tourists from Ukraine.

Next summer, he said, there will be 35 scheduled flights from Germany to Cyprus and, as the Minister pointed out, results are expected to surpass those of 2019 and 2018.

CHA President, Harris Loizides, said he expected the tourism industry to continue its positive course this year, after record arrivals in the previous years.

Tourism figures in 2019 were similar to those in 2018, with arrivals close to 4 million. He also noted the stabilizing trend in income from tourism, which is expected to see, however, a small reduction in comparison to 2018.

In order to reach the goal of 5 million tourist arrivals by 2030, we need to implement a series of targeted measures, said the President of CHA, underlining the need to turn Cyprus into a year-round destination, and to explore new markets and improve connectivity.

Evgenios Evgeniou, CEO of PwC Cyprus, said that despite the country’s numerous advantages in tourism, there are areas where things need to improve. He referred to the sector’s contribution to the Cyprus economy, particularly during the last couple of years, noting that it played a catalytic role in collective efforts for sustainable development.

Evgeniou described the national tourism strategy as a “a step to the right direction” and a road map in order to turn Cyprus into a sustainable tourism destination.