Filenews 17 October 2021 - by Adamos Adamou
The five Christmas villages that will be set up this year in the communities of Agros, Kyperounta, Kakopetria, Platres and Kalopanayiotis, the authentic route of experiences and generally the effort to promote the countryside made by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism are not at all accidental, since it probably serves the fulfilment of its vision, as it is described in the budgets submitted before the Parliament.
According to the deputy ministry's strategic plan for the two-year period 2022-2024, which accompanies the budgets, his vision "is to increase the contribution of tourism to the GDP of Cyprus. Within this framework, it is intended to make Cyprus, by 2030, a sustainable, year-round destination, attracting 40% of its visitors during the period November - April. This is also recorded in the National Tourism Strategy (EST 2030), but it is not easy, given that tourist arrivals during this period barely exceed 20%.
Based on data from the Statistical Service, both in 2018 and 2019, i.e. the two previous normal years for tourism, since last year's one cannot be considered such, due to the pandemic, the percentage of arrivals collected by the six months between November and April was limited to about 24%, with their visits in these six months ranging slightly below one million, out of a total of nearly four million arrivals (3,976,777 in 2019 and 3,938,625 in 2018).
It is recalled that the total arrivals last year decreased to 631,609, recording a decrease of 84.1%. It is recalled, however, that both 2018 and 2019, although the last two normal years for Cypriot tourism, were at the same time both the best years in its history, in terms of visits. "Despite the positive results of the last years of the pre-coronavirus and the changes brought about by the pandemic in the tourism data, it is considered that the tourism sector in our country faces specific multi-year pathologies, which must be addressed in order to be able to maximize the performance of the tourism industry for the Cypriot economy," the Deputy Ministry said in its strategic plan. In particular, the plan assumes that the Republic of Cyprus faces difficulties in trying to lengthen the tourist season beyond the period of May – October, but also that the tourist market in Cyprus is dependent on the influx of tourists from a small number of markets, such as the United Kingdom and Russia. These pathogenies, continues the Deputy Ministry, stem mainly from the fact that the country's tourist product was based for many years, almost exclusively, on the concentric diptych "sun and sea".
The main objectives
In view of the above and in order to address the many years of pathogens of the "heavy industry of the country", the main objectives of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism have been set to enrich and upgrade the tourism product, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of tourism visiting Cyprus and, at the same time, the promotion of the tourism product aimed at increasing the influx of tourists both from abroad and domestic tourism. These two goals, the deputy ministry says, are expected to lead to an increase in tourism revenues and the sector's added value for the Cypriot economy.
In order to achieve these fundamental objectives, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism informs that it has completed and started to implement the new National Tourism Strategy (EST 2030), which concerns the period from 2020 to 2030. Through EST 2030, a goal is set to attract visitors:
· Aged 50 years and over, with the aim of carrying out activities that will offer them life experiences. The target markets of Cyprus for this age group are: Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium.
· Aged 65 and over, with financial comfort, for quality retirement and the ability to stay abroad for several weeks in winter. Target markets: United States. Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark.
· For short stays, from countries (markets) located within 90 minutes, by air, from Cyprus. Target markets: Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Greece, Jordan.
· From distant destinations, for short holidays in Cyprus, as part of their trip to our neighbouring countries such as Israel or Greece. Target markets: USA, China, Japan, India, Korea.
In the above directions, the Deputy Ministry also records its aim to improve the air connectivity of Cyprus, with countries from which there are possibilities to attract tourists. To this end, he notes, the State and private operators are lying with airlines and tour operators in order to establish routes that connect the country with as many markets as possible. In the same network of actions, he adds, is included the simplification of the procedure for securing visas to Cyprus from countries that are considered internationally as pure exporters of tourists.
Actions for enrichment
The strategic plan also refers to the actions included in EST 2030 in order to enrich the country's tourism product. These include, inter alia, the promotion of a range of specific products, such as sports, cultural and religious tourism, conference tourism and rural tourism.
"With the ultimate goal of alleviating the problem of seasonality, by expanding the tourist arrivals of the winter tourist season and the months outside the main peak, the Deputy Ministry also implements action plans to attract tourism of special interests", it is added, recording, then, a series of special products that could attract tourists from the target markets such as wedding tourism, religious, wellness tourism, etc.
The actions taken more widely by the government also include the promotion of new tourism infrastructure projects, which are expected to drastically diversify the existing tourism product of Cyprus. These investments include, he mentions, among others, the development of new golf courses, the construction of additional marinas and the creation of the integrated type of resort casino. "The promotion and completion of these projects will be among the priorities of the government in the coming years", is mentioned in the strategic plan of the Deputy Ministry and added: "In summary, with the aim of achieving the fundamental objectives set, the main activities of the Deputy Ministry for the period 2020-2030 include, among others, finding new markets, upgrading the quality of tourism services and the experiences offered by the country, the improvement of infrastructure and the development of existing and modern forms of tourism for the lengthening of the tourist season".
€11.6 million for grants and €19 million for advertising
The strategic objectives of the Deputy Ministry, as they are recorded in its strategic plan, are the strengthening of competitiveness, the upgrading of the tourism product, the development of special forms of tourism and the integration of mountainous, rural and border areas in the tourist map.
Several incentive and sponsorship projects of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism are moving towards this direction, as these are included in its budget, which for 2022 is estimated to reach €53.7 million - with €47 million this year (without counting the amounts received through supplementary budgets in the current year).
These plans include the extension of the domestic tourism support plan for the period December 2021-March 2022, but for this one, as well as for other projects recorded in the budget, a relevant decision of the Council of Ministers will be required.
The subgroup "grants" includes proposed appropriations of €11,617,010, intended to cover actions, as well as financial support schemes, for which, as mentioned, a decision of the Council of Ministers is required. The plans and actions mainly concern the promotion of all special forms of tourism, such as, among others, the conference tourism incentive scheme, the "Investment Grants Plan for the Enrichment and Modernization of the tourism product for the lengthening of the tourist season", the "Plan for the Revitalization and Beautification of the Popular Neighbourhood", "Grants of Associations and Associations related to the promotion of Health and Wellness Tourism", "Sponsorship Plan for Municipalities and Communities as well as private sector entities for the development of special and alternative forms of tourism (creation or upgrading of services)" and several others, including the extension, as mentioned, of the plan to support domestic tourism after November expires.
The largest expenditure allocation of the Deputy Ministry in 2022 will be allocated to "enlightenment campaigns", since in this sub-groups of expenditure, appropriations of €18,914,272 are foreseen. These are intended to cover, among other things, cooperation with tourism partners abroad, including airlines, more intensive advertising campaigns in priority markets, as defined through the new business plan (electronic advertising media) and actions to promote specific forms of tourism.
