Filenews 15 August 2025 - by Dora Christodoulou
In mid-2025 and with discussions about the difficulty of achieving the EU's climate targets flaring up, small Cypriot tourism businesses are fighting their own unequal struggle to adapt to a new climate-neutral economy.
Twenty small Cypriot businesses in the hospitality and coffee sector shared the key shortcomings they face for their green transition, as well as the possible solutions, through a participatory process coordinated by the AKTI Research and Research Center, at the Zero Waste HoReCa-Seed Funding Competition event.
Referring to the results of the process, the Centre's communications officer, Elizabeth Felekidou, told "F" that businesses consider local Cypriot products to be unused. As a prime example, they cite Cypriot avocados, which are not sufficiently promoted in the local market as a valuable superfood, while the incomplete education on their value leads to consumer ignorance on the part of the public, who often choose imported products.
Businesses, he stresses, propose the official recognition of local products by the Ministry of Agriculture and their promotion by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, as well as the enhancement of children's consumer awareness through the inclusion of products in school canteens.
Bureaucracy in the certification of organic products is recorded as another serious obstacle to the sustainable operation of Cypriot businesses, according to the representative of the AKTI Research Center. The simplification and modernization of procedures, as well as on-the-spot inspections, are proposed as solutions that would relieve businesses from this perennial problem, which reduces their productivity and discourages investment in new innovative ideas.
Businesses in rural Cyprus cite the absence of recycling bins as a paradoxical obstacle to the sustainable management of their waste, while raising questions about where recyclables end up. As a solution, they propose to put pressure on local authorities to place recycling bins in strategic locations and a unified approach to sustainable waste management throughout the island, Ms. Felkidou also says.
Businesses end up with the absence of government guidance on sustainability issues as perhaps the most critical problem that threatens the resilience of the tourism industry. The lack of systematic government support forces entrepreneurs to look for solutions on their own to integrate sustainable practices into their operations. Initiatives such as the Zero Waste HoReCa Bill are coming to provide the solution, says Mrs. Felekidou.
The Zero Waste HoReCa Network is the first network to be established in Cyprus with the scientific support of the AKTI Research and Research Centre, aiming to promote green development in the tourism industry of Cyprus.
To date, the network has 350 members who implement sustainable good practices in their operation, have incorporated know-how and technology in the areas related to their waste management, energy and water use, the promotion of sustainable practices in their supply chain and cooperation with the Local Government.
In its two years of implementation, the Zero Waste HoReCa Network has recorded savings of over 50 million litres of water and over 1,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, over 900 tonnes of food waste and over 800 tonnes of recyclables from landfills have been redirected, as well as over 650 sustainable practices implemented by the members of the Network, emphasizes Elizabeth Felekidou.
