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As the summer tourist season reaches its peak, there’s nothing much else that can be done to further boost arrival numbers for this year or to better promote the island as a destination.
Perhaps, though, now is a good time to look back at what was (and wasn’t) achieved in 2019 and not wait until the end of the season.
After three seasons of record arrivals, it is clear that the tourism sector has reached saturation point, with a good number of beds added to our accommodation capacity in recent years thanks to a series of incentives, low-cost carriers filling the gap of departing airlines, quality somewhat improving as (some) owners re-invest profits in their establishments and the growing demand for qualified labour while keeping unemployment levels low.
However, the only measure that cannot be quantified in numbers is quality. Most of the coastal towns, driven by Ayia Napa and Paphos, are at the forefront of improving infrastructure, combined with reliable transport and a good dose of the arts and culture.
Restaurants are re-inventing their menus and wineries are riding a wave of great demand, regardless of Cyprus wines being priced a bit higher than imports.
But the glue that brings this all together is the human factor, the genuine ‘kopiaste’ from the front desk manager at a hotel and the cheerful smile and bonus offer from waiters waiting to lure customers to their tavernas and restaurants.
In contrast to that, we still get the grumpy, often rude and over-priced taxi drivers, who seem to have taken over all available public spaces, with airport managers tolerating this abuse, while some kiosk operators and cafes tend to overprice simple products to exorbitant rip-off levels with which even ordinary criminals cannot compete.
Just as the shipping sector is enjoying a newly discovered euphoria with maritime academies, the hotel and catering schools also need to upscale their curricula, with veterans returning to the classroom to be trained in manners or better service and management techniques.
No matter what we do in other sectors of the economy, the tourism sector remains the shop-window to the brand known as ‘Cyprus’.
The product, too, needs a fresh paint job or even re-inventing, what with novel service on our doorstep such as the large casino project and marina communities popping up like mushrooms.
In general, we have had a good year, but we have once again absorbed the fall-out from other rival destinations and this should not leave us complacent.
We have yet to see any substantial change as regards tourism strategy plans and other blueprints that were supposed to rewrite the manual on how to become a major attraction.
Until the miracle wand is used for the major overhaul we have yet to see, perhaps we should start from simple steps such as improving our quality of service, a collaboration between hoteliers and trade unions, retraining everyday folk to treat tourists better, including the native holidaymaker.
There are issues, some of them very serious, but before a ‘national strategy’ on tourism, we should embrace a ‘national sentiment’ and join hands to fix shortcomings and improve our brand.
