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This year's General Assembly of the Pancyprian Hoteliers Association coincides with the end of a period when tourism both in our country and internationally faced unprecedented challenges.
The last three years will undoubtedly go down in history and will be taught in universities as a case study for the closed two years of tourism due to the pandemic and the year of return, which was, of course, 2022.
Negatively in the sense that there were still health restrictions, even if few people took them into account, and positively in the sense that last year the strong feeling of going out, of travelling, prevailed as an emotion in the choices of millions of citizens around the world, of a holiday after two years of isolation and restrictions, at the same time as millions of citizens had the opportunity to redeem the holiday vouchers they had received in the previous two years, when they saw their holidays cancelled due to health restrictions.
From this year onwards, tourism is back on track, and is certainly facing a series of new challenges for today and tomorrow.
It is our responsibility to monitor international developments, to be in constant communication with you, the frontline tourism players, and to take the right, coordinated action at the right time.
When in the year 2013 our country entered an unprecedented economic crisis, with its citizens unable to understand what was happening, and the political system of our country looking for the reasons and responsibilities of the crisis, tourism stood up and simply confirmed its importance for the Cypriot economy.
The planning incentives approved by the Council of Ministers in May 2013 were used by you, the hoteliers, the tourism entrepreneurs, resulting in an increase in the number of beds and the upgrading of the services offered.
Combined with some other practices or policies implemented at that time, tourism recovered, climbing from 2.4 million arrivals to 3.9 million,
Of course, none of this would have happened if the entrepreneurs in the sector, that is, you, had not taken the risk, and for this very reason, you deserve a lot of congratulations.
Unfortunately, just when everything seemed to be looking good, and when tourism should be entering those chapters that require a more detailed approach, such as special forms of tourism and the need to improve the product even more, the pandemic intervened.
Tourist visits reached a nadir, and we realized once again how important tourism is for the Cypriot economy and the Republic of Cyprus.
Of course, in 2022 tourism restarted, as I mentioned, with new challenges but also new problematic facts, and I am referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in the loss of almost 900 tourists.000 arrivals that had to be replaced from other markets.
An effort that is still going on today, with the loss of the Russian market still existing and is still intense even today in some units or in some geographical areas where a relationship of close cooperation or even dependency had been established.
An effort that is still going on today, with the loss of the Russian market still existing and is still intense today in some units or in some geographical areas where a relationship of close cooperation or even dependency had been established.
As I mentioned, the effort to replace the Russian market continues, and it is with great pleasure that we see some markets such as Poland, Israel, Germany, France and several other smaller markets showing signs of recovery.
Tourism is the most important pillar of the Cypriot economy and should be treated as such.
In relation to 2023, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism has announced its target since March: An increase of 5%-10%, with the footnote that we will never stop working for even better results at all levels and in all sectors.
It is noteworthy that this announcement was made at a time when there was a strong euphoria globally in relation to the current year, almost all influenced by the performance of the previous year, a year in which many countries celebrated tourism records.
As the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, and I personally as Deputy Minister of Tourism, we chose to be cautiously optimistic not out of gullibility or concern, but taking seriously the fact that things were not easy in relation to the general economic climate, given the sharp rise in inflation in Europe and what is happening to our country's historically two largest sources of tourism.
By December 2022 it was now clear that the UK, the largest source of tourists for our country's tourism, was effectively entering a period of recession that, according to the Bank of England, would last until 2024.
A recession which, like many others like it, is characterised by a reduction in productivity, a reduction in investment and, as a consequence, an increase in unemployment and a reduction in the income of the average British citizen.
At the same time, our second largest market up to 2019, that of Russia, has virtually disappeared, as I have just mentioned.
Taking the above data seriously, we felt we had no choice but to be cautiously optimistic and at the same time even more militant.
According to the Office for National Statistics, total arrivals for the period January to May show an increase of 36.2% compared to the year 2022 and 3.9% compared to the year 2019.
Here, I would like to note that we have received the market's concern about the relative slowdown in bookings in recent times, and any signals of concern, however, there are explanations.
Apparently it is not only a phenomenon that has been observed in our country, it is a phenomenon that has been observed in some regions of Greece and in other European destinations.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Friends,
Distinguished colleagues,
As the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, the stakes that we have to face are many. Our goal is certainly not only to increase arrivals and revenues.
Our goal is to solve the chronic problems facing our country's tourism, and solving most of them requires horizontal cooperation and actions with other government agencies and ministries.
Regarding the main objectives of tourism policy, I would like to focus on the following. We aim to extend the tourist season in steady steps with the ultimate goal, of course, of developing tourism all year round.
I would like you to know that in all our promotional activities, contacts with Tour Operators and others, we place particular emphasis on the months at the beginning and end of the tourist season, aiming to strengthen them, which will bring us closer to our ultimate goal: the development of our country into a year-round destination, and we are optimistic that a reasonable increase will be achieved from this year onwards.
2. In order to achieve the above objectives, we must remain competitive in the markets where we have been established for years as a tourist destination, while at the same time finding ways to improve our country's visibility in some relatively new or emerging markets, such as the United Arab Emirates market, which we visited a few days ago.
In my personal opinion, it is imperative that we work methodically to raise the visibility of our country as a tourist destination in the Middle Eastern countries now that they are also experiencing an increase in outbound tourism, thus exploiting our country's geographical advantage in relation to that market.
At the same time, we should also devote time and energy to penetrating new markets.
We are optimistic that from next year the Kazakh market will open since - barring a shocking contingency - our country will be connected by air with the emerging economic powerhouse of Central Asia from next May, and perhaps in the coming weeks if we overcome some problems related to specific procedures, another market from Central Asia will open.
Of course, at the same time, we must invest in alternative forms of tourism, sports tourism, wellness tourism, conference tourism, maritime tourism, cycling tourism, religious tourism, rural tourism and, of course, any sector that can add benefits to the tourism economy of our country.
It is commonly accepted that the problem in this case is most often the lack of infrastructure, an important area in which we must invest. We all know how important infrastructure is for tourism in every country, in every tourist destination.
We would like you to know that as the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, we have now started to record the deficiencies or problematic basic infrastructure by geographical area, in order to be ready to make the necessary recommendations to other governmental bodies at the appropriate time, thus recognizing the importance of public infrastructure for tourism in our country.
Of course, we cannot make a promise for their immediate improvement or the improvement of all of them, knowing that state funds are not inexhaustible, but we are already ready to submit specific recommendations, which will increase with the passage of time.
At the same time, we call on you, the Pancyprian Hoteliers Association, to cooperate in this direction, because only in this way will tourism be truly upgraded.
You know the infrastructure was, is, and will be a great capital for tourism and as a capital it is inextricably linked to what is called the product offered.
Our country's product must be constantly upgraded in order to be competitive, of course, and we must certainly keep the competitiveness of our coastal resorts, which admittedly receive the majority of foreign visitors, at a high level, at the same time as we must invest in our inland and mountain resorts, especially at this time when there is evidence of recovery and new investment.
At this point, allow me to mention that the Council of Ministers approved on 15 June the proposal of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism to launch a project for the creation of wellness facilities, which will result in the channelling of five million euros into our country's tourism market.
The fund in question comes from the Recovery and Resilience Fund, so we are implementing yet another of our commitments to use the Recovery and Resilience Plan, and of course, we will not stop here.
I continue by opening a new chapter, very important for our country's hotel industry.
It is common knowledge that in March 2024, the five-year transition period for hotel operators, as established by legislation in 2019, will end. At the same time, it is also common knowledge that this period has not been used by tourism businesses for the purposes for which it was granted, with all that this implies.
It is therefore necessary to find solutions within a framework of mutual understanding for the good of our country's tourism economy.
At the same time, we believe that the licensing framework for tourism businesses needs to be reformed, which is why, as the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, we have already approached the Commissioner for Legislation asking for her contribution to solving or at least partially simplifying the licensing framework.
At the same time, we need to see how we resolve a number of other issues that have been plaguing and costing our country's tourism dearly for years, such as the issue of noise pollution.
Our position has been expressed both in the relevant meetings on this issue and publicly, and is clear. That is to say, to combat the phenomenon.
It is therefore imperative that we deal thoroughly with all these issues that have been damaging our country's tourism over the years.
It is for this reason that we are proceeding with the creation of a tourism observatory, an institution that we hope will help in this direction, collecting information through various tools, electronic and otherwise, with the ultimate goal, of course, of increasing the competitiveness of our country's tourism.
And in this effort, of course, your supporting role will be institutionalized through the submission of monthly bulletins of comments and suggestions.
As a Deputy Ministry, we believe in cooperation with professional associations and bodies, and for this very reason we have proceeded, as you know, with the establishment of the promotion body, thus implementing another of our commitments to society.
Thus, for the first time, the private sector, now institutionalised, will have the opportunity to participate in the planning of the country's promotional activities.
I would be remiss if I did not mention climate change and the need to move in a coordinated and targeted way towards the green transition, a pillar that needs special attention from the government of Nicos Christodoulides.
As I recently mentioned in the press, climate change is an issue that concerns the entire Mediterranean region and certainly not only our country.
According to scientists, the phenomenon in question is expected to have adverse effects on tourism at a global level, which is precisely why it is necessary for tourism businesses to become more ecologically sensitive and oriented towards sustainable development.
Our view is that competitiveness and sustainability can, of course, be combined, and the most important thing is to remember that year after year the percentage of citizens who take into account the actions of a destination in terms of sustainability is increasing.
As the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, we are planning a conference next October in cooperation with the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Association and we hope that you will all be there, at the same time as we are planning a series of other actions focusing on the path towards the green transition.
A key pillar of the Nicos Christodoulides Government is also the path towards digital transformation.
We are currently running a grant project aimed at the digital transition of providers of special forms of tourism, while at the same time we are planning as a Deputy Ministry a number of other actions aimed at the further use of technology both by us and by participants in the tourism market.
I also consider it important to mention another action that the Deputy Ministry of Tourism has already started to plan and discuss in cooperation with the Centre of Excellence of the CTEPAK, which concerns the recording of the history of tourism in our country.
For us it is very important to record the history of tourism in our country, and it is equally important for everyone to participate in this effort, because through history we learn lessons and, of course, we avoid repeating mistakes.
Most importantly, it is through such actions that the entire tourism community organizes, connects, draws, as I said, lessons and, of course, receives messages from the mistakes and omissions of other eras.
We need to bring all of us closer together, each of us who, from our own position, serve the tourism sector.
It was also very cleverly recorded in the National Tourism Strategy that it is a demand and requirement that the entire tourism community of the country should be aligned, seeking the implementation of common goals and visions, in order to take our country's tourism much higher.
Besides, no destination branding strategy, something we have been discussing for years, is of no value if the people who live and especially those who do business in the industry do not share the same visions and values.
The overall attractiveness of a destination rises only when its people align and share the same values and visions.
Therefore, dear, friends of PASYXE,
dear partners,
We want you to keep in mind that as the Deputy Ministry of Tourism we have all the goodwill as from next autumn, we will visit your members in all parts of Cyprus to discuss both the disadvantages and the advantages of tourism in our country.
It is not a promise, it is our duty.
(ΕΠ/ΣΧ)
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