AN EXTRA half a million pounds will be pumped into the tourist sector in a bid to boost the industry, still reeling from the aftermath of the September 11 events.
The extra funds were approved after the completion of an investigation into why the cabinet had been given the wrong tourism figures last month, prompting ministers to postpone their decision to approve the cash until May 8.
On April 28, Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis launched an investigation into how the misleading figures were given to the Cabinet after the Hoteliers Association (PASYXE) suggested it had been done deliberately.
The figures showed optimistic bookings data when in fact the real picture was extremely bleak as far as bookings were concerned.
Instead of a projected increase in of 23 per cent and 13 per cent respectively for May and June as presented to the Cabinet, the correct figures showed an actual drop in bookings of 34 per cent and 11 per cent for the same two months.
Rolandis told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the issue had been resolved and the investigation showed there had been a mistake made at the CTO office in London, which had somehow made its way as far as the Cabinet “without anyone noticing”.
After being presented with the correct figures, the Cabinet approved a string of new measures aimed at increasing tourist arrivals to the island over the next winter season. This latest package raises total annual government expenditure on tourism to some £15 million.
After the Cabinet meeting, Rolandis said the additional £500,000 would be spent primarily on promotion and advertising for the winter season.
Plans have already been made to do away with aircraft landing fees for the first three months of 2003.
Rolandis said the government’s extra expenses would be more than compensated by increased traffic, adding there was plenty of time to fine-tune the measures.
Only a week ago, the Cabinet approved a £410,000 advertising package for the summer 2002 season.
“Cyprus is one of a handful of countries that have adopted such extensive measures to boost tourism,” Rolandis said. He went on to add that, according to World Tourism Organisation official figures, last year the island was one of the countries least hard-hit by the September 11 events, even registering a 7 per cent increase in income over the year.
Reservations for this summer have taken a fall compared to last year. Rolandis tried to play down the extent of the problem, saying that last-minute reservations were part of the equation.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
