Despite the challenges, the Cyprus tourism product remains “highly competitive” but everyone must do their part to make sure it stays that way, the deputy tourism minister said on Tuesday.
Costas Koumis was speaking at a gathering of local government leaders and stakeholders in Ayia Napa, where he presented the findings of research on tourism in the Famagusta district. The research was produced by the Tourism Observatory, established last year and operating under the deputy ministry of tourism.
The observatory gathers and analyses data for each district, identifying potential problems or aspects needing improvement. It’s part of a broader government strategy to localise tourism policies. Last week Koumis had presented the observatory’s findings on the Limassol district.
“It’s very important to transmit these findings to each local authority,” Koumis said.
“In my opinion, we must discuss these issues frankly. Tourism in our country has gone through five decades of success, it remains highly competitive, as demonstrated by this year’s results and despite the fact that we have had to face many challenges.”
The emphasis, said the deputy minister, must be on personalised services, cleanliness and promoting the country’s cultural heritage.
In spite of some isolated issues arising during the summer months, the findings show that the Famagusta district continues to do well in terms of hotel occupancy and visitor satisfaction.
Taking questions later, Koumis spoke of “phenomena of nuisance and noise pollution,” adding that the government has finished drafting a bill concerning the operation of restaurants and nightclubs.
The bill is expected to be approved by the cabinet soon, and then tabled to parliament.
“Individual [tourist] destinations are living cities that host people who come here for fun, and there is no single destination in the world that does not present its own problems,” the deputy minister said.
“It is our responsibility, always in cooperation with local authorities, to limit any such problems.”
Responding to another question, Koumis said local authorities are eager to get feedback and work on solutions.
Later, at another event, he said that tourism in Cyprus, “must successfully face the challenges of today and tomorrow to remain its competitive.
“Climate change is here, not in the distant future, and is already affecting the decisions of millions of potential visitors, as well as the decisions of thousands of returning visitors,” he said.
He said that July’s tourism figures “have already been affected by climate change and high temperatures”, and that the same will apply in August and in subsequent months as summer temperatures in Cyprus continue to rise.
With this in mind, he said that for Protaras and Ayia Napa to remain competitive, they must “further improve tourism infrastructure and tourism-adjacent infrastructure”, while also “taking initiatives to make both destinations much more attractive”.
He added that if eastern Cyprus wishes to remain competitive, “many other elements must be added to the product of sun and sea”.
