By Jean Christou
As the government outlined its ‘strategic’ vision for tourism on Tuesday, the president of the Association of Cyprus Travel Agents (ACTA) warned that the same mistakes of the past were still plaguing the island today.
“We like studies and strategic plans but an invisible hand prevents their implementation,” said Victor Mantovani at the same ACTA event where Communications and Works Minister Marios Demetriades delivered a speech on behalf of President Nicos Anasatasiades.
Demetriades, congratulating ACTA on its 60th anniversary, said the government’s emphasis today was on improving the accessibility of Cyprus from key markets, and also to alleviate the chronic problem of seasonality.
He, like many government ministers before him, also spoke of grand projects such as golf courses, marinas, casinos and upgrading hotels.
But Mantovani said grandiose infrastructural projects were all very well but the vision needed to be accompanied by common sense.
“Many of the problems are easily solved,” he said. “Let’s start working on the hospitality, cleanliness and training. Often it is the little things that make a big difference.”
Mantovani said Cyprus was still without a strong tourism identity – it was still stuck on sun and sea. “We arrived in the new millennium with our pockets full of money, and our minds… full of air,” Mantovani said.
“The intoxication of success did not allow us to understand the upcoming changes in the tourism map… or our weaknesses.”
He said the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) had been slow to recognise the competition from destinations such as Egypt and Turkey, unions didn’t care that labour costs had soared, Cyprus Airways had been left to its own devices and the industry in Cyprus was slow to realise that the internet was an allay and not a competitor.
While other destinations grew over the past 13 years, Cyprus’ tourism either declined or stagnated, Mantovani said. “No matter how hard we looked, we did not find any country that has had so disappointing a performance in tourism from 2000 and onwards as our own,” he said.
But he added that it was still salvageable if the right decisions were made.
“There is no doubt that international tourism will continue to grow at a higher rate than the GDP of the various countries. It is estimated that by 2030 global tourism will grow by 75 per cent and reach 1.8 billion travellers, he said.
“This data allows us to be very optimistic… but Cyprus must finally regain its lost competitiveness and the market share it deserves.”
Anastasides, through Demetriades, said the government was working on ‘targeted solutions’. He said part of this strategy had already borne fruit.
He said the government had achieved significant three-year agreements with tour operators to gradually increase their programmess to Cyprus, and agreements to maintain existing and adding new air routes to and from the island.
Demetriades said in 2014 there had been an increase of 7 per cent in airline seats over 2013, “which is directly connected with the expected increase in arrivals for the year,” he said.
Up until July, arrivals had increased by 6 per cent, while revenue was up 11.6 per cent at the end of June.
On the structural side, Demetriades said the casino offer had been published on the relevant ministry’s website while a bill had already been sent to party leaders and the legal services for their comments. Marinas and golf courses were also ongoing.
“I assure you that we fully recognise our responsibility to formulate a national strategy… for the continued development of our tourism industry, an industry we have repeatedly stressed is our top priority,” Demetriades said.
