NICOS Rolandis, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, yesterday earned every bit of his tourism brief in an address to a major gathering in Jerusalem of representatives of some 130 of the world’s largest trans- national banks and corporations.
Besides the simple pleasures of the island’s fine hotels, wines and foods, Rolandis reminded the business leaders that Cyprus, besides sun, sea and sand, is renowned for “the sincere friendliness and traditional hospitality of its people, who make each visitor feel as an honoured guest.”
The venue was the Prime Minister’s Jubilee Business Summit, sponsored by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and marking Israel’s 50 years of statehood.
Israeli tourists are already coming to Cyprus in increasing numbers. This year’s figures reflect a four-fold increase in tourists from the Jewish state, Rolandis said in August, adding that he expected some 80-90,000 more winter visitors from Israel.
Since independence from Britain, Rolandis told the business meeting, tourism has become a pillar of the island’s economy. Its more than 2 million tourists per year account for about 20 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.
“Despite the terrible loss and destruction brought about by the Turkish invasion of 1974,” he said, “Cyprus has managed to re-establish itself on the tourist map,” attracting some 843 million Cyprus pounds annually in foreign exchange earnings.
Among its “diverse beauties and attractions,” Rolandis noted that the island boasts the remains of some 9,000 years of civilization among the ruins that pepper this “crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa.”
These, he said, included the footprints of the Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Frankish Crusaders, Venetians, Ottomans and the British. Additionally, “the Apostles of Christ walked on this land…” literally, he added.
To meet the competition, the island is upgrading its already excellent tourism product with new sports facilities, golf courses, casinos and marinas, he said, implicitly inviting the captains of industry to experience the charms of Cyprus.
Rolandis and Vassilis Rologis, chairman of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, headed the island’s delegation to the summit, to which they were invited by Netanyahu.
The Republic in turn, has invited Rolandis’ Israeli counterpart to the island in November, the same month in which a Cyprus visit is expected by Israeli President Ezer Weizman. It will be the first visit ever to Cyprus by a president of Israel.
