By Marinos Pavlikas
(From the newspaper "SIMERINI" of Sunday 18/3/2018)
The recent decision of the Mayor of Ayia Napa to "block" the "hordes" of young drunken tourists circulating half-naked in the town square did not unpleasantly surprise anyone. Finally, Ayia Napa made the courageous decision to get rid of the "low economic background" tourist current, raising the bar for a new type of "expensive" tourism. As racist as it sounds to our ears, in the language of tourism marketing, the separation of the "product" is done in terms of demographic characteristics of age, financial status or even marital status. This is what the first Municipality in Cyprus did, which obviously and with an aggressive campaign seems to radically change its branding.
The decisions
As Jeff Bezos, the first on Forbes's list of 2018 millionaires and Amazon founder, once said, "Identity, branding an organization or a city, is like a person's reputation. We build our reputation by trying to do what is difficult and to do it well ". This is what Ayia Napa is trying to do. To radically change its reputation, build a new image and attract a new kind of tourism. This is also provided for in the new national strategy for tourism until 2030, as prepared by Spanish experts on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus. And if the strategy requires us to find the hen with the golden eggs, restoring the image of our country, attracting a new kind of tourist current, the coastal resort of the province of Famagusta dares to do it first.
Recently, the City of Ayia Napa sent a letter to travel agencies in the UK and abroad, informing them that from now on, Ayia Napa will no longer tolerate the delinquent behavior of a portion of tourists who thus tarnish the image. that the Municipality has been trying to build in recent years. In fact, he informs that the closer relations that have been built with the Police are moving in this direction, as well as the promotion of the procedures for the installation of a monitoring circuit in the central points of the Municipality for the prevention and suppression of illegal behaviors.
It does not lead…
The decision of Ayia Napa is not new. This is a practice followed by other similar destinations such as Magaluf in Mallorca, Ibiza and Hvar in Croatia, which were famous for their frantic parties and entertainment. In the case of Hvar, in fact, the reception of tourists is now done more with threats of fines than with welcomes. The mayor of the island city of Hvar, Riki Novak, told the New York Times last August in an extensive tribute that "the party-focused stream of entertainment is now undesirable," while launching a major tourist information campaign. for the hefty fines that await them: € 500 for those who do not wear t-shirts in the city, or € 700 for those who drink, eat or sleep in public places!
The barometer is a useful tool
The guidelines for the road map that Ayia Napa will follow in the coming years were determined by the barometer, a large survey conducted by the Municipality and which will be carried out every year, during which citizens and businessmen of Ayia Napa as well as tourists evaluate the various characteristics, efficiency, image and services of the municipal authority.
The undoubtedly bold venture of the Municipality of Ayia Napa had a positive impact, as the main reasons why the city remains a popular tourist destination became clear, while it showed problems that need to be solved immediately.
According to the Mayor of Ayia Napa Giannis Karousos and in his statements to "S", this is a pioneering tool, through which the Municipality of Ayia Napa has become the first Municipality in Cyprus that will be evaluated annually by tourists and citizens of.
Sun and sea
According to the barometer of the Municipality of Ayia Napa, the main reasons why foreign tourists choose Ayia Napa are the Sun and the Sea and the short holidays. For local visitors, the main reasons for visiting are the sea and the beaches and the night entertainment.
First in preferences for foreign visitors seems to be the four-star hotels, since the vast majority (48%) choose them for their stay. They are followed by three star hotels and Hotel Apartments with a rate of 12% each. Five-star hotels seem to prefer only 4% of visitors. At the same time, in terms of accommodation, 61% of tourists travel to Ayia Napa through an organized package, while 47% choose All Inclusive packages.
53% of foreign respondents said they were visiting Ayia Napa for the first time, 17% said they were visiting Ayia Napa twice, 9% three times and 19% four or more times.
For their part, Cypriot visitors stated that they visit Ayia Napa by 37% once a year. 23% 2-3 times a year, while frequent visitors amount to 37%. Specifically, 14% of Cypriot respondents visit Ayia Napa once every six months, 13% once a quarter and 10% every month.
Regarding the evaluation of Ayia Napa, both foreign and local tourists state that they are quite satisfied, foreign tourists by 53%, and Cypriots by 41%.
The foreign visitors rated the hotel units with the highest score and the hospitality and friendliness of the residents, while the Cypriot visitors rated the nightlife, the beaches and the means of transport.
Of particular importance is the fact that 49% of foreign repeat tourists have stated that Ayia Napa has improved compared to their last visit while the vast majority of Cypriots (48%) believe that it has remained at the same level.
Also important is the fact that most of the foreign visitors (71%) stated that it is possible or very likely to visit Ayia Napa again for their vacation.
Citizens are satisfied but…
The biggest problems that seem to concern the citizens of Ayia Napa seem to be noise pollution, four-wheeled vehicles and the lack of parking spaces. They seem to consider that they are the immediate priorities of the Municipality, since most of the citizens of Ayia Napa stated that the immediate priorities should be the solution of the problem of noise pollution, the issue of safety and four-wheeled vehicles.
Nevertheless, 60% of the citizens state that they are satisfied with the General Image of the Municipality, 61% are satisfied with the service of the Municipal Service, 50% are satisfied with the information on the rights and obligations of the citizens and 49% state that satisfaction with the response of the Municipality to emergencies.
Also, regarding the functions of the Municipality, 49% evaluate the Financial Management very positively, while 56% evaluate very positively the organization and efficiency of the municipal machine.
The headaches
As for business people, the most important problems they seem to face are poor quality tourism and All Inclusive hotels.
At the same time, the vast majority of entrepreneurs (74%) evaluate positively or very positively Ayia Napa as a place of business development, while the majority believe that the positive elements that must be used to create and develop business activity are the beaches, the culture and the natural environment.
The survey was conducted during the months of September - October 2017 and asked 300 foreign visitors, 300 Cypriot visitors, 300 Ayia Napa residents and 150 businessmen.
Consolidation of finances and increase of surpluses
The second bet of the Municipality of Ayia Napa, in addition to the upgrade of its tourist infrastructure, is the internal restructuring, something that seems to have been achieved.
According to the data published in the Financial Report by Mayor Giannis Karousos, revenues in 2017 were by € 824.168 compared to 2016. Expenditures also decreased by 643 thousand euros with a surplus of € 2,5 million By comparison, it is worth mentioning that while in 2012 Ayia Napa recorded a surplus of only 14 thousand euros, in 2018 it will record, according to the budget, a 2.7 million euro surplus.
At the same time, loans decreased from € 6.5 million in 2012 to € 5 million in 2017 with a budget reduction to € 2.6 million in 2018.
An important incentive for economic consolidation is the income from the beaches. Their management by the Municipality itself showed a positive sign in the data, since in 2017 the revenues amounted to € 3.1 million compared to 899 thousand euros in 2012. It is estimated that in 2018, revenues will reach € 3.2 million and the surpluses from the management of the beaches at € 1.7 million.
Relevant, of course, with the planned projects in the city and the available budget for development projects. Specifically, development spending in 2018 will be 2.3 million euros higher compared to 2012 and by 954 thousand euros higher than last year. In 2017, 1,7 million euros were allocated for development expenditures, while this year € 2.730.000 will be allocated.
Source: TODAY