Filenews 3 May 2021 - by Stelios Tsiartas
In a climate of uncertainty but with optimism, determination and preparedness, the professionals of the tourism industry are marching at this very very unprecedented time. This is the conclusion we come to by talking to industry bodies and entrepreneurs. The vaccination programme, the epidemiological situation, the political purposes of the countries, the movements of our competitors, the flying programmes and the new players at sea will undoubtedly determine the fate of the summer season. But turning the coin around, there is optimism that all the hotels in the country will open their doors to the public, making turnovers that will far exceed those of last summer.
The data in the tourism sector are not as we expected and undoubtedly those who believe that we will have enough tourist flows during the summer season are turning a blind eye to the true picture. April is the predominant month of the start of the summer tourist season. In favourable conditions we would have the first descent of visitors to our country. But the uncertainty within the international community complicates matters.
In the "air" the big markets
A key factor in getting the tourism sector started is the vaccination programme, as it is the alpha and omega of the categorization of countries. This is also our great obstacle, bearing in mind that Britain, which is our main market, will open according to its Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, on 17 May. But the thorn in the side of the whole affair is the "orange" category in which he has classified us. Under these conditions, a British person visiting our country for recreational purposes upon his return will have to submit a negative molecular diagnostic test, which will be within 72 hours, before his departure, another quick test upon his arrival and a quarantine period of at least three days. On the other hand, if they visit "green countries" they will be able to return to their country with only a quick diagnostic test and without quarantine. The 'green' category would include Malta, Gibraltar, Portugal and Israel, which are expected to have vaccinated more than half their population by 17 May, countries that are our competing countries and will certainly gain a significant advantage over us.
In the "air" however is also the Russian market which is a very good customer of our tourism. The Sputnik vaccine has not yet been approved by the EU and this has the effect of making Russian visitors into a category that needs to be quarantined upon arrival, but there is no plan for how we manage them afterwards.
The coveted green passport
Thirteen countries, including our country, have agreed on seven criteria governing the introduction of a 'green passport' for tourism, with a view to this being implemented more quickly and as uniformly as possible at European level in a teleconference they made on 29 March. Two weeks later, the 13 EU member states agreed that the "green passport" should be implemented by June at the latest. The "green passport" will show at a glance whether someone has been vaccinated, cured or tested with a single QR code, namely, the "green passport", which the European Commission wants to be ready for use from 1 June, reportedly includes three certificates, i.e. for vaccination, for the diagnostic test (PCR or quick antigen test) or for recovery (at the earliest 20 days after the first positive PCR test). The digital document will be issued free of charge, valid for the duration of the pandemic and will have a high level of data protection, as it will contain only the most important and covid-related personal data (e.g. identification of the individual, vaccine used, batch number, date and place of vaccination/test).
Competitors' movements
The battle for competition in the Mediterranean countries, whose economy is heavily dependent on tourism, is ambivalent. Malta, taking advantage of the rapid pace at which it ran its vaccination programme, shielding even 42% of adults with a dose, recently announced a holiday grant scheme for those who wish to visit it during the summer season. In particular, travellers wishing to book a five-star hotel worth €200 will receive a grant of €100, those who choose a four-star hotel will receive a total of €150 and those who book a three-star hotel will receive €100. Moreover, those who choose to visit hotels on Malta's smallest island, Gozo, three kilometres (two miles) north of the mainland, benefit by an additional 10%.
Greece, for its part, has announced that it is removing the 7-day quarantine to visitors from EU and US, UK, United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Israel countries, allowing them to enter the country with evidence: a negative result in a COVID-19 crown test using the PCR method within the last 72 hours prior to their arrival in Greece or the presentation of a vaccination certificate , issued by a public authority, subject to the 14-day period following the completion of vaccination. This action, in addition to marking the beginning of the summer tourist season, is also an incentive for holidaymakers who would like to visit the country.
Cruise ship descent to the island
The descent of cruise ships into our country can be described as an unexpected gift. The Jewel of the Seas of Royal Caribbean, from July 10th will have as its port of departure that of Limassol, and from there will sail for seven days on picturesque coasts to visit ancient monuments in Cyprus, Athens, Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos and Santorini until October. Carnival, with Seabourn Cruise Line, is the partner player from abroad who enters the game of cruises. Starting from the port of Piraeus, it will have two 7-day routes that will include the Greek islands of Agios Nikolaos-Rhodes-Mykonos-Nafplio with Limassol and Patmos-Rhodes-Santorini-Spetses and Paphos.
Wings in new destinations
Ryanair announced in the midst of a pandemic the largest summer programme ever created for Cyprus with a total of 34 routes and 106 flights a week. Among others are five new routes to and from Bari, Bologna, Corfu, Rhodes (starting in July) & Treviso (starting in June) which will boost both passenger traffic and tourism.
What should Cyprus do?
Speaking with industry bodies as well as representatives of major hotel units in the country we identified important issues that need to be resolved immediately in order to make Cyprus competitive with the other players in the region. The first concern is to prepare a "road map" with predetermined dates as was done in the other countries so that the companies involved can plan their activities and for a start it would be good to be able to reopen local tourism. There is also an absolute need to vaccinate workers at the forefront of the sector, which will give confidence to the major markets. In addition, it is important to replace PCRs with rapid testing, as the costs of the holidaymaker and our country will be reduced, while the tracing procedures that would be applied in any positive case will be avoided.
Akis Kelepesis, Honorary President of the Cyprus Association of Travel Agents
Key the green passport
"There is an optimism about the summer tourist season that in order to be strengthened the date of entry into force of the 'green' passport will have to be fixed by the EU. This will also free up travel agents who will have to "run" to book holiday packages, flights, hotels etc. Undoubtedly the biggest obstacle created is the indecision of the English Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who, although he initially stated that from 17 May he would release leisure travel, has called off what he said by announcing that those who leave the country for tourism purposes by June will be fined heavily. But political games undoubtedly come into play as many countries have no economic benefits from tourism. Apart from the difficulties we face, the descent of the cruise ships, which chose Cyprus after difficulties they faced in other regions, is an important development for our country. However, this is not surprising as these companies have always had our island as a destination in the back of their minds, but they were sceptical about geopolitical developments in the wider eastern Mediterranean region. Their concerns were overcome by the security that dominates the region as well as the health data in Greece, Cyprus and Israel.
What needs special mention is the nationalities that choose these cruises. At Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas, in particular, most sales are made to Britons, then to Americans and finally to Cypriots. The great benefit that arises is that these travellers, in order to be able to take part in the cruises, will have to travel by air to our country, which presupposes that they will also stay some extra days in our country. Regarding the reservations of Cypriots in the Greek islands for the summer months it is expected that over the Easter holidays they will start. I think we're going to do a lot better than last year. If last year our work reached 10% of 2019, this year we think we will reach 40%."
Dimitra Karadoki , Vice-President of the Cyprus Tourism Business Association
Support by the end of 2021
"Although health indications are now more optimistic after coronavirus vaccines have been approved, we are still going through an equally difficult year. Already, we can say that the first half of the year is gone. Hopes for something better than last year are now in the second half of the year but we should still not expect a substantial recovery or visits from tourists at pre-pandemic rates. It is very likely that tourist spending will also be reduced, as the general uncertainty is still great. Already, the major foreign tour operators are asking for much lower prices than in the pre-pandemic period. Developments such as those in Great Britain, one of the main sources of tourists to the country, are not positive at all. The fact that the largest airlines have moved the start of services to both Cyprus and other destinations demonstrates the difficulty of the project.
We hope that Cypriots will soon be allowed to stay in hotel units, as the Deputy Minister of Tourism recently said, and so that businesses in the sector will gradually start. Of course it is not a panacea, but this development will help in many ways. Several hotel units will be re-operating and direct and indirect government revenues will increase. Equally important is the impact on the psychology of citizens of such a development. It will be a powerful signal that at last the situation we have been experiencing for almost 14 months is beginning to change. With all this in mind, the position of the STEK is that the state support plans for the sector are extended until the end of 2021, as for hotels employing permanent staff the labour costs amount to hundreds of thousands of euros per month.
With regard to the international competition currently prevailing to attract tourists. As a country we should get into the game loud and direct, presenting concrete actions that will help us win the trust of both the tourists themselves and the tour operators. Such actions include the priority vaccination of the workforce employed in the hospitality sector and the corresponding promotion of this decision abroad. Equally important will be the formulation and implementation of a Single Health Protocol for the hotel industry.
However, the epidemiological situation in the country since mid-April is not particularly assistive. The fact that the Health System has reached its limits and the care of patients is called into question is something that raises concerns for our country and abroad.
Looking to the future, it is clear that there are still several issues that have not been clarified around the virus: mutations, duration of vaccine action, achieving herd immunity and so on. So the road back to normality for the hotel sector is a long one. Major international organisations in the sector do not see a return to 2019 levels before 2024. However, we are optimistic that the very difficult ones will soon be a thing of the past and it will once again be up to us to achieve a rapid recovery as we have done again in the recent past.
Cyprus' GDP is largely based on tourism and it is clear that in order to achieve growth rates of 4% for this year, as planned, we will have to shield the tourism industry."
Philocyprus Roussanidis, General Manager of the Hotel Association
We're cheaper than our competitors.
"This summer season will be moving unreservedly to better levels than last year, as all hotels are expected to operate as opposed to the summer of 2020 where only 30% of them opened their doors. Moreover, as PASYXE we will soon release our established list, with offers and attractive moments aimed at attracting domestic tourism, when and if given the green light by the Government for the opening of hotels to Cypriots. With regard to the high competition that exists in the region, our country has to offer better prices in similar hotels than its competitors, such as Greece and Turkey, being cheaper 30%-40%".
Poppy Tanta, Chief Commercial Officer Louis Hotels
Targeted campaigns
"We are constantly monitoring developments in international markets. As far as the British market is concerned, which is the largest for Cyprus, we await their Government's decisions on when they will be able to travel. There are too many countries that have targeted tourists from Britain and this needs to be taken into account. Russia's market has changed categorisation and some restrictions have been reduced but there is currently no flow from the country. As far as Israel is concerned there is a relative optimism because of the strategic contacts we have with tour operators, with whom we are trying to attract tourists. No matter how much effort we make as Louis Hotels, it will all depend on the epidemiological picture of our country and the decisions of the various Governments that will determine the flows and periods that tourists will travel. The Ministry of Tourism, hoteliers' associations, ACTA as well as all tourism operators within their capabilities and contacts are doing everything they can to facilitate the situation. To attract tourists we conduct targeted campaigns in specific markets highlighting the strict implementation of health protocols while participating in the world's largest exhibitions with an online presence. At the same time, we maintain direct contact with our partners abroad who inform us about the prevailing trends in order to adapt our product and the flow of bookings.
We start in April with the opening of two hotels: the five-star The Royal Apollonia in Limassol and the recently upgraded Louis Phaethon Beach in Paphos. Our intention is to proceed in May to openings of all our hotel units if the situation permits. After all, last year, despite the very low numbers of arrivals, our Group opened the majority of its hotels, giving the opportunity to locals and foreigners to choose. Depending on the epidemiological picture, flows and restrictions we adapt and give our visitor the best holiday experience."
Alexis Chrysostomou, General Manager Kanika hotels
Optimistic and courageous
"Day by day we diversify our plans, as decisions both locally and internationally are constantly changing. We believe that unless there are satisfactory flows of visitors from the two main markets of Russia and England we will hardly work at a normal pace, although we want to be optimistic that this year we will be able to open all the hotels of the company. That's why we have prepared all our hotel units and trained our staff so that with the start of the reopening of the hotels we can move to full pace within ten days.
We consider that vaccination of the first line of tourism is an absolute necessity, as they will give security to visitors but also strengthen the position of Cyprus in the markets. It is also very important to facilitate visitors with their arrival, by replacing PCRs with rapid testing. This will make the procedures easier without inconvenience to tourists, we will ensure with the immediate result that they will not transmit the virus as long as they are cases to the rest, while the cost of the Government will be less.
The biggest obstacle we consider to exist is the decision of England's second largest tour operator, Jet2, to extend the start of its flights to Cyprus until 24 June. We are optimistic about the upcoming summer season but we must have the courage to open up our tourism."
Petros Pieridis, General Manager, Owner of Crowne Plaza Hotel
Vaccination of frontline staff
"The international group IHG to which we belong has the policy of not closing its hotels so that there is a continuation of the work, which is why we have remained open as long as we can. All this time we have been serving professionals, who are our main clientele. The Group also owns the Indigo Hotel in Larnaca, which remained closed all this time, as it had opened a few days before the start of the Pandemic.
The fact that visitors from 65 countries have been entitled to come to our country since April is very positive. There are certainly problems with England's attitude to leisure travel, but at the hotel we already have guests from Russia and Israel entering with negative tests, a development that we consider positive, as we see how things flow. What must undoubtedly be done is to allow local tourism to stay on a test, after all, they can enjoy their coffee or their food in hotel cafés but they cannot stay. A single protocol on hotels is also an important issue. We cannot apply the dining protocols in restaurants, nor those of the CMO for gyms and pools in hotels. The needs are completely different and a single "map" must be made for the hotel industry. Finally, we believe that the first line of tourism must be vaccinated immediately, so that foreign visitors who come to our country feel safe."
