Delegation of Chinese travel agents detained because Cypriot-issued visas were ‘not good enough’
THE CYPRUS Tourism Organisation (CTO) is seeking a meeting with the Interior Ministry after 25 travel agents from China, invited to Cyprus to promote the island at home, were detained for four hours by immigration at Larnaca airport on Tuesday.
Reports yesterday said that the Chinese embassy was also seeking a meeting with the Ministry to clarify the situation.
Although the embassy refused to comment yesterday, an article in Simerini quoted a woman from the embassy saying that a meeting had been sought.
According to the reports, the 25 travel agents were invited on the junket by CTO chairman Photis Photiou during his recent visit to Beijing to promote Cyprus tourism to the Chinese.
They arrived at Larnaca airport on Tuesday with the proper visas obtained from the Cyprus embassy in Beijing but were forced to obtain additional documentation on arrival before immigration officers would allow them in.
Simerini said yesterday the situation became even worse during a trip to Curium on Wednesday when they were stopped by security at the site from taking photographs.
The paper said that the Cypriot hosts, and the Cypriot ambassador in Beijing were shocked by what had happened, while a representative of the travel agents said he hoped the authorities would rectify this problem bearing in mind that there was a huge market for Chinese tourism.
It also quoted immigration officials as saying that there were special instructions for dealing with tourists from China on the grounds that many were coming here to claim political asylum, and that documentation in addition to visas was needed.
This was highlighted recently when 29 Chinese tourists fled Larnaca airport in a bid to file asylum applications just as they were about to fly home. Apart from the 29, another 12 Chinese nationals in the same tour group also filed asylum applications during their stay on the island.
CTO officials could not be contacted for comment yesterday but the Cyprus Mail learned that there was deep concern over what happened.
“The CTO chairman is going to see the Minister and try and figure out ways that this kind of situation can be avoided in the future,” sources close to the controversy told the Cyprus Mail.
The sources said the issue centred on why valid visas issued in Beijing should be re-examined on arrival in Cyprus. They said that although the Chinese travel agents were not outraged as such but it had made them a little wary.
“As a state we have to find ways to avoid this kind of thing happening,” said the source. “In their eyes it seemed as if there were two different policies. It was not a good sign that people who were invited here were facing difficulties from the first moment”.
DISY spokesman Tassos Mitsopoulos also condemned the action by immigration officials yesterday. He called it a “tragicomedy”. Mitsopoulos said incidents such those left Cyprus exposed in a way that was irreparable.
“This shows a complete lack of planning and coordination by the various government services responsible,” he said, adding that the Chinese travel agents had been treated in a demeaning and offensive way.
“It’s yet another example that the government’s right does not know what it’s left hand is doing,” he said.
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism George Lillikas last week bragged that around 30,000 tourists from China were expected to flood into the island this year after the government had managed to include Cyprus in the official destinations of China as part of a tourist programme between the island, Egypt and Greece, aimed at promoting a new unified package from China and other Asian countries.
According to the World Tourism Organisation, China will be the largest exporter of tourism in the world within the next few years.
??
??
??
??
