* Frappé €2 at Protaras, down from €4-5 last year *
Prices have gone down at several coastal food and beverage establishments, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation said, adding that there has also been a sharp drop in cases where local businesses charged more than what their price list showed.
CTO Quality Assurance Department Deputy Director Giorgos Pericleous said that the price observatory has alarmed many coastal food and beverage establishments and has led them to cut their prices.
He said that the price of a frappe, the popular iced coffee drink, has gone down to 2 euros in some in parts of the tourist coastal area of Protaras, from 4 to 5 euros in previous years.
A comprehensive list is available at www.visitcyprus.com .
“It seems that there is a good momentum,” CTO Acting Director General Annita Demetriades told a press conference, speaking about the rights of consumers during their holidays in Cyprus, adding that “data for the first six months of the year shows an increase in arrivals of almost 6%”.
First half tourist arrivals exceeded one million, she said, noting that the drop in the number of tourists from Russia was more than covered from traditional markets.
Demetriades said that CTO and other stakeholders’ efforts have borne fruit and that revenue from tourism has increased as well.
“Nonetheless, there is a decline in the Russian market, which was expected. We have achieved increased numbers from other markets that have covered the gap and this way we can manage the drop from Russia,” she said.
Demetriades said competition has led owners of coastal businesses to reduce their prices, if they find out that they are more expensive, compared with the consumer price observatory, prepared by the CTO.
She noted that consumers have the right to complain to the CTO on 22691100 (alas, up to 3pm) if they find out that they paid more than what the pricelist of the establishment says and the owner could be prosecuted.
Demetriades added that 57 beaches now carry the Blue Flag for cleanliness, while 37 have access for the disabled. She said that special equipment has been installed at five beaches to allow handicapped people to get into the water and the plan is to add a further five, while the “Sea Mobile” app developed in cooperation with the Oceanographic Centre of the University of Cyprus has general information about beaches.
Alternative activities to beach tourism include the agrotourism programme for rural establishments, the seven Wine Routes with information about 41 wineries, religious and cultural tourism and the ‘Short Breaks’ programme.
