A PLAN TO slash airport fees has come as a welcome move and shows that Cyprus has finally decided to do something that for once is more practical than airy-fairy when it comes to tourism.
Over the last decade when the industry was in a never-ending slump, we witnessed grand plans to boost ‘quality tourism’, most notably the Cyprus Tourism Organisation’s 2000-2010 Strategic Plan designed to bring in 3.5 million tourists and €3 billion in revenue by 2010.
This day last year, the plan was dead with only 2.1 million tourist arrivals and revenue of €1.5 billion, barely more than what it was when the strategy was formulated ten years previously as Cyprus was in the throes of a ‘’mass market’ ‘sun and sea’ boom, rather than the ideal of the ‘big spender’.
In the past decade however, the plan only made a tiny dent in the problem of falling numbers as hotels continued to close, and more and more people were laid off, especially in the last three years since the financial crisis hit.
Yes arrivals are up 10 per cent this year but tourism is what one Cypriot holiday expert calls a ‘fashion industry’. This year’s figures could be just a fluke. Next year might see more tourists but it could just as easily not.
That is why it is vitally important to change tack. Quality tourism has remained a pipe dream. There have been developments, which have proved somewhat successful such as sports tourism, golfing and cultural tourism but these are just niche markets and will never bring in the numbers needed to sustain growth. Also people have less money to spend on such holidays, and even those who come find it incredibly expensive – another issue that needs addressing.
Slashing passenger fees should attract more airlines and result in more competition, and hopefully cheaper fares to tempt more visitors. The nature of booking holidays has changed. The more options that are available online in terms of airlines and cheaper fares, the more people are likely to come.
And it’s not just all about bringing in tourists. Getting off the island is also an issue. According to yesterday’s census results, there are now 179,000 foreigners – 112,000 from EU counties – living in Cyprus. Ten years ago the numbers were less than half that. Now there is a potential market of nearly 200,000 people, or one fifth of the population, who likely will want to fly home at least once a year, many of whom are currently sorely lacking for choices.
To use an industry term, ‘bums on seats’ is now the only realistic answer to both incoming and outbound movement, and to achieve this, more and cheaper flights are needed in and out of Cyprus.
