It will maintain the good features of the two existing ones and will be available to the entire tourist community, says K. Koumis
Among the first actions of the new Deputy Minister is the creation of an interdepartmental committee to deal with sustainable development and sustainability in tourism.
The Deputy Ministry of Tourism wants to follow a new tourist compass, with the new Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis aiming to create a tourism strategy, with a horizon of 2035. As he explained while speaking to “K”, it is essentially a marriage of the good elements of the Spanish strategy ( THR Asesores en Turismo Hotelería y Recreación S.A.) and the previous National Strategy prepared during the tenure of the previous Deputy Minister Savvas Perdio. He added that the new strategy will take into account the new major projects that are coming to Cyprus and are expected to have a significant tourist footprint, while it will include and analyze the special forms of tourism, and of course it will emphasize issues of sustainability and sustainability in tourism.
They start with study
In the following days, the project will go from theory to practice, with the first step being the study of existing texts. As Mr. Koumis explained, while he knows the content of the Spanish strategy, he still has no idea about the 2nd one, since its content was not – in its detail – accessible to the general public. The summer season is also considered useful for the creation of this new compass in tourism, since it is a peak tourist season, which can provide useful data for the content of the new strategy.
Open to the public
However, what is clear is the intention for the new strategy to be open and accessible to the general public, in order to convey the messages to the tourism community. As the Deputy Minister typically commented during the last tourism conference, it was the importance of disseminating information. “Alas, if the findings of any study cannot be transferred to society in the tourism community so that the community itself can improve.” What is also clarified by the Deputy Minister is his intention not to proceed with an open tender for the development of the new strategy, but the process will be conducted internally, by the Deputy Ministry.
Sustainability is a priority
Sustainability and sustainability in tourism will have a primary role in the new strategy and also in the actions of the Deputy Ministry. In the context of the focus on sustainability issues, Kostas Koumis mentioned that a decision has already been taken to create within the Deputy Ministry, an interdepartmental committee to deal with sustainable development and sustainability and to promote this direction in actions and projects. “We believe that it is imperative and extremely beneficial for each department to be aware of the developments regarding sustainable development and at the same time, for each department to be ready to list its proposals in relation to sustainable development”.
Perdio's strategy
The announcement of a new strategy in tourism comes just a few months after the approval of the previous one by the Environmental Authority (the opinion was given in November 2022). Its available content emphasizes the vision for developing Cyprus in a sustainable way, establishing it as a year-round destination, and promoting it as a quality, digitally intelligent and environmentally friendly destination. The ten-year goals set shortly after the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2020 included an increase in overnight stays by approximately 32% to approximately 48 million by 2030, which translates into a 31% increase in tourist arrivals (5 million) It is emphasized the need for proper management and the effort to mitigate the problem of seasonality and overconcentration in certain areas, so that more areas can benefit from the socio-economic boost of tourism, and at the same time the natural resources of the areas with increased tourist traffic. Among the measurable objectives of the 2030 strategy, are the revenues from tourism, so that through tourism an additional 1.5 billion euros will be spent in the Cypriot economy. This corresponds to an increase of 53% compared to the €2.9 billion contribution to the economy in 2018. The target for daily spend per visitor was a 16% increase in 2030 (around €90). Regarding seasonality, the aim was for 40% of overnight stays to be distributed between November and April, from 22% in 2018, while overnight stays in mountainous areas and other rural villages to increase from 100 thousand in 2018 to 400 thousands in 2030.
