CANOEING in the Yermasoyia dam, water skiing in the Polemidhia dam and rowing in the Kourris dam are just a few of the new proposals to upgrade sports tourism in Cyprus, Tourism Minster George Lillikas said yesterday.
Lillikas was speaking as Cyprus tourist industry bosses marked World Tourism Day by focusing on the development of sports tourism on the island.
He said the development of sports tourism was a top priority for the government and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), as laid down in the 2003-2010 strategic plan.
Lillikas said a separate 2005-2007 plan for sports tourism has also been drawn up, which he described as an action plan to boost the sector even more quickly.
“This solid tourism sector contributes to resolving the problem of seasonality, increases revenue and promotes repeat business,” Lillikas told an international conference on sport tourism in Nicosia.
“Cyprus has a lot of possibilities and prospects to attract sports tourism, not only professional sports but also leisure activities.”
The action plan, he said, included the upgrading of the Olympic pool in Limassol, which will begin at the end of this year and be completed in 2006, and the completion of the town’s new ‘Palais des Sport’ to be finished by the end of this year.
He also said there were plans to create facilities for canoeing in the Yermasoyia dam, water skiing in the Polemidhia dam, rowing in the Kourris dam and sailing in Larnaca.
“We believe that there are a number of possibilities for upgrading the sports tourism sector by exploiting the favourable weather in Cyprus during the winter period,” said Lillikas.
“For this, we are investing in new infrastructure and upgrading existing infrastructures.”
Renos Solomides, the chairman of the Association of Cypriot Tourist Enterprises (STEK), which represents four and five star hotels on the island, said it was generally accepted that the problem of decreased competitiveness had its roots in the “anachronistic offer of an obsolete and standardised mass sun-and-sea type of tourism”.
He said diversity through the development of alternative forms of quality tourist products was a necessity for the industry to move forward and succeed.
“Sports tourism is undoubtedly such a quality product. It can give a significant boost to tourism and the national economy,” Solomides said.
He said statistics showed sports tourism represented 32 per cent of the total international tourism market and was expected to grow further. “It has the possibility to attract a lot of persons, not just athletes but also support staff and spectators of athletic events,” he added.
CTO chairman Photos Photiou focused his attention on golf, saying that by the end of the year they expected expressions of interest from a businessman for a golf course in Limassol and from two businessmen for a course in Paphos.
