Google searches by people interested in a Cyprus holiday reach about 100 million a year, while in 2017 there was a 60% increase, according to Google’s Travel manager for Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta.
Speaking at the Digi.travel conference in Nicosia Orestis Andrianis said the increase in searches for Cyprus via Google was the 7th largest in Europe with 84% of those searchers living abroad.
Some 70% of searches come from 10 countries, with the UK, Russia, Germany and Israel topping the list – reflecting the number of arrivals from these countries which is 81% of all tourists coming to Cyprus.
Andrianis said online searches reflect the reality of tourism and this must be taken into account by companies active in the industry.
With some 50% of searches made on mobile devices such as phones and tablets, hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses should take this into account when designing their websites.
Based on a research by Google, Cyprus is perceived mainly as a tourist destination for its good beaches (47%), culture (35%) and friendly people (34%), but Cyprus is not associated with any specific activity.
Some 90% of people who visited Cyprus consider the biggest positive about the destination is the sun and the sea, but what they said is worrying about the seasonality and searching for specific experiences.
The Google expert said there were 84 million searches for hotels in Cyprus but only one million for activities, a very small number compared to other destinations.
He stressed that the search for new experiences and activities can open up new prospects for tourism and address the problem of seasonality.
In his address to the conference, Junior Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios referred to the need to move from mass marketing to personalised holidays.
He said, the goal in the next few years is to focus not only on experiences but also on creating feelings for visitors so that their trip to Cyprus is something they can remember forever.
"Our role as a tourism industry is to be able to provide experiences and create feelings," Perdios said.
He also noted the role that local cuisine can play, the very good climate of Cyprus and Cypriot hospitality.
Perdios referred to the importance of Instagram as a tool for approaching a larger number of tourists and the need for tourism business websites to differentiate according to the needs of different nationalities and age groups.
He also said that diversification of the tourist product of Cyprus is particularly important, noting the need for more personalised experiences, apart from mass tourism, which he said is currently missing from the market.
