Agro-tourism entrepreneur Sofronis Potamitis has the answer to curing tourism’s ills: think smaller, and focus on what really makes us special)
SOFRONIS Potamitis offers a warm welcome from his accessible open-plan office, and dressed simply in white T-shirt and trousers his appearance exemplifies the informal ambience of his tranquil Tochni headquarters.
But it’s not just Potamitis’ style that sets him apart from his contemporaries. The 47-year-old entrepreneur has validated the potential for agro-tourism, demonstrating vision, imagination and a genuine passion for delivering great customer service.
Using experience gained in his mother’s Governor’s Beach restaurant and armed with an economics degree from California’s Berkeley University, in 1987 Sofronis established Cyprus Villages, a company offering rural holiday experiences and a source of income to local businesses.
The industry’s current decline has his mind working at mercurial speed as he describes a seemingly endless list of business ills. Solutions, or in his words, “crazy ideas”, pour forth in rapid succession. Yet there is a sense that Sofronis’ characteristic enthusiasm is tempered by a growing weariness in dealing with issues over which he has no control. Inadequate infrastructure, restrictive flight costs, inertia, lack of innovation, poor service and loss of culture are among his frustrations.
Creating a product derived from Cyprus’ distinctive attributes and delivering superior, unique experiences is, he says, key to addressing industry decline. But realigning an outdated product so firmly entrenched in traditional markets and out of sync with the island’s cultural values is way beyond his scope.
“I do my part but you need to have teamwork. You need to have the whole country behind it. If the country doesn’t go to another level then I cannot go to another level,” he says.
While guidebooks sell the promise of traditional Cypriot hospitality the reality frequently falls short. Cyprus is earning a reputation for poor service and while this wasn’t considered a problem during the ‘churn and burn’ boom years it is difficult to shake off when you are competing for a narrower slice of a price sensitive market.
“People return to people,” Sofronis explains. “Warmness is part of the product, the human element is tremendously important. People feel that. They are not stupid; when they experience a warm welcome they know you care. If things happen or they ask you a question you have to react in a positive way. You have to love what you are doing because if you don’t then people will feel it.”
Historically, the lower end of the sun and sea market was always an easy one to pursue. Obliging tour operators delivered tourists by the planeload leaving them to their own devices until it was time to go home. European trends indicate a greater shift toward independent travellers who want to connect emotionally with a destination, meet the locals, experience nature and come away with a positive life-long memory. Their biggest turnoffs are lack of public transport, uninspired food, poor service, poorly maintained facilities and litter, so with these kinds of demands it’s no wonder the industry laments the loss of its less challenging clientele.
The new breed are already important markets for Sofronis who offers rustic packages with the option of passive or active pursuits ranging from halloumi production and horse riding, to cycling and esoteric breaks. He has achieved a loyal following among business and leisure groups, successfully removing seasonal restraints by marketing to a wider spectrum of special interests; yet he believes that opportunities from the sector are greatly undervalued.
Attracting numerous micro-segments of tourists and business travellers requires a little inspiration, imagination, marketing flair, professional implementation and investment.
Sofronis appreciates that the CTO must focus on “big numbers”, but as a rural operator he is also stymied by their reluctance to invest in effective diversification to complement the dominant seaside trade. “They’ll put in a big newspaper advert for €8,000 but they won’t put small ads in small places because they want large volume,” he says. “They focus on one market, and when it starts dropping, they put more money into it to pick it up. But it doesn’t make any difference in the end.”
To use one of his examples, the island has yet to be aggressively pitched as a ‘twitchers’ paradise, an opportunity to bring visitors during spring and autumn bird migrations. He claims it is one of several markets considered too small to warrant a focused CTO marketing campaign, however, research on the ‘birding’ community reveals a segment large enough to have even CTO officials scrambling for a pair of binoculars and a copy of the Birds of Cyprus field guide.
Our feathered friends are a global tourism goldmine; one in five North Americans is a ‘birder’, that’s 46 million people with a spending capacity of around US$326 billion. The UK’s birding society, the RSBP, offers another viable chunk of marketable visitors from its million plus membership. Closer to home, a study by Turkey’s Uluda? University found that annual revenues from wetlands bird watching at the Ku?cenneti National Park alone amount to US$1.3 million.
Food is another vital element in Sofronis’ “uniqueness” strategy and he is desperate for the industry to exploit the island’s abundance of seasonal produce. “The food hasn’t changed for 30 years. We have to maintain and upgrade Cyprus’ gastronomy, to be proud of what we have and offer it at a higher standard,” he says.
Saddened by the gradual disappearance of orange groves from his village he fears local produce will eventually disappear altogether and urges restaurateurs to dump stale international cuisine and create a “new generation” of gastronomic expertise. “It could just be using Cyprus ingredients so that tourists aren’t comparing it to something else. Having a Caesar salad on your menu is not very exciting because it’s the same anywhere; it shouldn’t be there if you want to be different,” he says.
He has a point; serious foodies plan entire vacations around a reservation at Spain’s El Bulli, or to sample scientifically inspired menus at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck.
“There are so many things that you can do with food that make it an experience,” he says, proposing high-end local wine tasting and celebrity chefs to revolutionise halloumi and the humble Ayia Napa spud.
“We have the best potatoes. We have truly tasty vegetables and very good fresh fruits. We have to inject that into the tourist industry as part of the product. Even a simple potato can be a unique product,” he insists. “If you lose the gastronomy then you are losing the whole product, you cannot compete after that because you have nothing unique.”
He’s always been ahead of his game in terms of radical, tourism-boosting ideas, though some might be considered a tad controversial in the current political climate, for example, marketing a ‘whole’ Cyprus. Asked if he might be criticised for daring to suggest such a thing Sofronis remains firm.
“Well this is the reality we can deny whatever we want,” he responds. “I am just saying imagine selling the idea of the diversity of two cultures, Greek and Turkish, then you start having selling points you know will make Cyprus unique.”
Interview with Sofronis Potamitis / Cyprus Mail / September 2009
©Melissa Reynolds
