With the tourism industry struggling to attract new arrivals from traditional markets such as Germany and the rest of Europe, the race is on to find alternative ways to fill the hotel rooms and the taverna tables.
One-off events, such as the Paphos Opera and the WRC Cyprus Rally, are perhaps two of the few value-added attractions Cyprus can offer. With the prospect for a casino as good as buried, the marinas barely afloat and the number of golf courses growing at snail’s pace, one can only wonder what else can be done to bring fresh tourists to a stale and over-priced destination.
Sports tourism is a new product we know little about, while agrotourism has died a slow, silent death. The Kypria cultural festival has been demoted to a five-star local attraction with few visitors from overseas and the wine festival… Well, let’s just say its not an event one would be eager to promote when other wine-producing destinations have cultivated their own “wine country tours” or special tasting events in chateaus, etc.
Cost also plays an important factor: these range from the high cost of hotel beds — that are subsequently slashed to ridiculous levels by desperate hoteliers who need overseas commitments in order to pay the excessively high labour costs – to the high cost of food, transport and entertainment. This is something one can no longer blame on the previous administration, or on high fuel prices nor even on “9-11”. On the one hand holidays in the north (and properties) are far cheaper than in the south and the Turkish Cypriots are relishing with delight. On the other hand, though, we should not go too far off to apportion blame when the high labour cost spills over to every other sector. When food is so expensive, one wonders what Europeans like in our mezes, which may be rich in variety but is even richer when the bill arrives.
If we live with the hope that the Germans will be back after a break for the World Cup, that leaves us with the traditional market of British tourists, who are finding Cyprus a bit expensive, but still bearable compared to overcrowded Spain.
Cyprus has shown that it is adaptable to change and perhaps should seek alternative attractions, such as sailing (need marinas), high-rollers (need casinos), and quality tourists (need decent roads). All these call for improved infrastructure which is more than just asphalting a pavement or running buses from Kato Paphos to Coral Bay.
The dreaded Strategic Plan for Tourism should be thrown in the bin as it has out-lived itself and novel ideas should be introduced.
With professional tourism and conference tours not really off the ground, thanks to more attractive competitive destinations, let’s see if we can revive our tourism industry to the days when British servicemen and their families at the Akrotiri and Dhekelia bases provided all-year tourism for the nearby resorts.
Beyond that? Who knows, maybe “peacekeeping tourism” should be a new product we should develop as more and more multinational forces prefer Cyprus to rest their troops after long missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and soon in Lebanon.
