The Cyprus Rally bandwagon has rolled into town again, bringing with it the huge boost in tourist spending it draws inexhorably to the island each year. It will also generate a mass of worldwide television coverage of the island — last year over 700 million viewers of highlights from the rally were recorded in just the top 25 countries – which will serve to promote Cyprus as a beautiful holiday destination and a place of deep, historic interest to countries all over the globe. An estimated 6,500 double rooms have been booked in Limassol for this year’s event, and each rally visitor spends seven times more than the average tourists. Limassol is the headquarters of the rally, but because the rally is being held this year in September, the town was already heavily booked, so many rally spectators have booked into Paphos, Larnaca and Ayia Napa. All of those staying in hotels will be paying the premium rates for September, the best tourism month in the Cyprus calendar, and they will be packing the island’s restaurants and bars. This is on top of the 3,500 people making up the rally support teams, media, officials and VIPs and teams’ guests. More than a thousand corporate clients, always among the biggest spenders, add to this total. The total extra spend drawn to the island is expected to top CYP 13-14 mln (EUR 22.4-24 mln).
The Cyprus Rally 2006, run on September 21-24, the 12th round of the 16 in this year’s FIA World |Rally Championship, will be enlivened this year with its Sunday finale, the brand new OMV Down Town Special, with drivers evoking all the glamour of F1’s Monaco Grand Prix, roaring through the narrow streets around the medieval castle of Limassol, and staging a spectacle which will be the talk of the motorsport world.
The all-new Rally Park on Limassol’s seafront promenade, the location of the start and finish podium, will also host three days of entertainment during the rally, with featured celebrity performers including Boy George DJ-ing own inimitable blend of rave and house music, and lives gigs by Bananarama, Los Guanches, a talented young Cuban band, Greek-American star Kalomira, and Andreas Constantinides, with George Rousos on DJ duty, as well as classic car shows, rally simulators, food and drink, and plenty, including bouncy castles, to keep the whole family happy.
Takis Kyriakides, Cyprus Rally Clerk of the Course, said: “Cyprus can count the hard cash brought in by the rally, and this will be a considerable contribution to the tourism revenue of our island, but it is harder to place a value on the prestige garnered by the coverage of the island as an exotic destination which is seen by millions of television viewers all around the world. “Thousands of people come in as support for the official rally teams, as team guests and VIPs, media and officials. “Corporate clients and incentive groups make up another large group, and the new Down Town Special, with its spectator stands capable of holding seven thousand, and day long entertainment, is proving particularly popular in this category. “VIP hospitality packages have also proved a growth industry, attracting a huge number of big spending visitors to enjoy the rally in cosseted style. “The largest group is the general spectators, with an estimated 15,000 headed to Cyprus this year to follow our event, which is rated one the most dramatic of all the WRC events, and is the talk of motorsport fans all over the world.” All the major manufacturers’ teams will, as usual, be at the heart of the rally, and their drivers will feature all the best known names of rallying, eager to make their mark on the Cyprus Rally, which has been won for the past two years by WRC World Champion Sebastian Loeb. Known as the “holiday rally,” its constantly innovative nature has boosted its value to the island, and this year will see the Shakedown held on the eve of the event in the area around Stavrovouni Monastery, one of the most picturesque sites of Cyprus.
