UN World Tourism Organisation SG to visit Cyprus

UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Secretary General Taleb Rifai is paying Cyprus a visit on Friday with the intention of personally expressing his support to the country’s tourism sector.

According to a Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) press release issued here today, Rifai, who arrives on Thursday evening, will have separate meetings on Friday morning with President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades, House of Representatives President Yiannakis Omirou, and Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Yiorgos Lakkotrypis. In the afternoon of the same day he will also meet with Nicosia Mayor Constantinos Giorkatzis.

The intention behind Rifai’s visit is for him to personally express while in Cyprus UNWTO`s support towards the country`s tourism industry, the press release says.

A propos of this visit, UNWTO organizes a one day workshop, on Friday, at the Filoxenia conference centre, in Nicosia, hosted by CTO.

The workshop aims to support Cyprus in evaluating possible repercussions of the current economic situation on the tourism sector and to reconfirm the sector’s readiness to deal with such repercussions.

New challenges in tourism, major European outbound trends, a Cyprus situation analysis and useful instruments and strategies are some of the topics which will be presented and discussed during the workshop.

Rifai visits Cyprus following an invitation of CTO Director General and European Travel Commission (ETC) Vice President Marios Hannides.

Cyprus has agreed with international lenders on €10 billion rescue package, under which, it must close down the country`s second largest bank Cyprus Popular Bank (Laiki), and impose painful losses on deposits of more than €100,000 held at Bank of Cyprus, the largest bank of the island. Both institutions were heavily exposed to Greek debt.