in-cyprus 13 May 2025
Cyprus is experiencing a severe decline in camping tourism with organised camping sites across the island closing one after another, the Movement of Ecologists-Citizens’ Cooperation said on Tuesday.
The camping ground at Polis Chrysochous, popular with thousands of visitors for decades, has remained closed since 2023 while awaiting investors and costly redevelopment. Simultaneously, the Troodos campsite, the largest organised site in mountainous Cyprus, faces uncertainty regarding its operation this summer and currently remains closed, the party said.
“The remaining camping sites are either closed or overcrowded,” the environmental political group said in a statement. “There is no planning for new organised public camping areas, while luxury ‘glamping’ tourism develops uncontrolled.”
The group noted that camping tourism has become a cornerstone of alternative and environmentally responsible tourism across Europe, contrasting sharply with Cyprus’s approach.
The Movement of Ecologists has called on the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and relevant stakeholders to ensure the immediate reopening of key camping sites and to develop a national strategy for camping tourism with “small, environmentally harmonised interventions.”
They also urged authorities to create new camping sites throughout Cyprus, prioritising mountain and rural areas.
“Camping tourism is not a luxury. It is culture, sustainability and freedom,” the statement said.
