Antonis Loizou is right to suggest that Cypriots should be cautious about the much-trumpeted ‘new’ Iranian investment wave (Sunday Mail, April 12, 2009). Unfortunately, some of the reasons he cites are wrong and serve only to confuse.
I have known Iran intimately for nearly 40 years. I also know well some of the key instigators (Iranian and Cypriot) who enabled the recent bilateral trade agreement.
They all deserve congratulations. Nevertheless, there is something wrong with the numbers being quoted in terms of benefits to Cyprus tourism and property markets.
First, there are the tourist numbers. We have now seen a modest boost of 834 Iranian tourists added to the standing annual number of around 6,000.
Let’s assume that this addition is trebled this year i.e. an extra 2,500, making a total of 8,500. Surely not to be sniffed at and Mr Paschalides confidently expects the total to rise to possibly 20,000 per annum.
But, how do these figures relate to the ‘normal’ tourist numbers? Roughly, 2.5m foreign tourists come to Cyprus of whom about 56 per cent are from the UK. Let’s say 1.3m British tourists. We are told to expect at least a 35 per cent drop in the number of British tourists this year. Ignoring decreases from all other countries, that means a 450,000 fall.
So, just to stand still and plug the present gap Cyprus would have to attract more than 20 times the number of Iranian tourists that Mr Paschalides is hoping for eventually.
Second, we have property buying. To replace all the lost property buyers from UK and elsewhere would require a large proportion of the expected Iranian contingent of 20,000 to buy. This is most unlikely, because most of them are just genuine tourists and either not interested in buying or failing to meet the Cyprus government’s criteria for buying.
Even ignoring this fact, the sales gap needs to be closed now in 2009 and not in several years’ time when Mr Paschalides is expecting his 20,000 figure to be achieved.
The figures are the main issue. What Mr Loizou cites are peripheral concerns.
The foreign exchange issue he cites may well be a problem but so too will be mortgages through Iranian banks for Cyprus property. Like UK banks, they insist on title deeds before even considering a loan. There are, however, many potential buyers with sufficient cash which they move abroad legally.
Lack of direct flights is a nuisance, as Mr Loizou says. However, plans for reinstituting reciprocal landing rights in Cyprus and Tehran for certain scheduled carriers were being discussed at least 12 months ago and we await details of progress.
To my personal knowledge, the Cyprus Embassy in Tehran seems to issue dozens of visas per day and not the two cited by Mr Loizou but he may have a point about this being a limiting factor.
His assertion that very few Iranians speak English is, frankly, nonsense. Iran is a highly educated society in which English proficiency is normal and certainly among those likely to want to buy property here. True, there will be some with poor English – but then that could be said of many Cypriots! Try learning Farsi, Mr Loizou. It worked for me.
Iranians in Cyprus for the first time often say how culturally similar the two peoples are. They feel at home here. Those from southern Iran in particular love the similar climate, physical environment and relaxed lifestyle.
They share many common values: love of simple pleasures, love of socialising, eating, singing, dancing, music. They are astute in business, just like Cypriots. So, Mr Loizou’s assertion about Iranians and Cypriots never having a meeting of minds and shared attitudes is baffling.
Perhaps he just doesn’t like Iranians? Perhaps he doesn’t know many or any?
Dr Alan Waring,
Larnaca
