CYPRUS: Finance Minister sees prospects for further development of tourism

There are prospects for further development of tourism, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Tuesday, recognising the decisive role of tourism industry in the recovery of the economy, and pointing out that the effort to improve the quality of the product should continue, according to the Cyprus News Agency.

 
Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference for the presentation of the book "Cyprus – A Culinary journey", sponsored by RCB Bank, Georgiades said that 2017 for Cyprus is another excellent year for tourism, with very good prospects from both the Russian market and other markets such as United Kingdom and Germany, and it is undoubtedly confirmed that tourism is the driving force of Cyprus’ economy.
He added that the government considers that there are prospects for further promotion and development of tourism and for that reason the development and implementation of a new integrated tourism strategy is underway. As he said the Deputy Ministry of Tourism has an important role in this new effort and the continuing of the effort for a qualitative, targeted promotion of Cyprus in these major markets.
Acknowledging that Cyprus has been favoured by circumstances, he said however that the country could not have been benefited, without some actions such as the open skies policy and the operation of major Cypriot and foreign airlines.
He also noted that only last winter Cyprus has invested heavily in infrastructure and about 10,000 new beds have been added to the hotel industry, showing that good performances are not only temporary and short-term.
He further said that the contribution of the tourism sector to the economy was decisive and that the fact that during the difficult years of the crisis tourism remained competitive, was one of the key factors that pushed the economy out of crisis and recession, and keeps it today on the path of recovery.