The Chairman of the Board of CTO Antonis Loizou rejected the position that the attraction of 3,2 million tourists in 2016, which is a record of tourist arrivals of all time, was achieved for cyclical reasons, stressing that Cyprus lost tourist arrivals due to instability in the region.
Speaking before the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, which discussed the Organization's budget for 2017, Mr. Loizou reminded that in 2015 the CTO forecasted arrivals of 2,96 million tourists in 2016.
"We had 3,2 million tourists. What happened; "We received about 200.000 more from Russia, 300.000 additional arrivals from other countries and we lost because Cyprus is at the center of the existing geopolitical problems," he said, citing reports from travel organizers.
"We know exactly what has happened, what we have lost and what we have gained," he said, adding that what paid off was the targeted promotion.
We do not only promote sun and sea
Mr. Loizou appeared annoyed with views that the CTO is consumed in promoting the sun and the sea. "50% of his efforts are to promote not the sun and the sea, but the rest of the product," he said.
Answering a question from the President of EDEK Marinos Sizopoulos that Crete attracted 4 million tourists, Mr. Loizou referred to reports of the Hellenic Tourism Organization and the Association of Tourist Enterprises of Greece on the low per capita expenditure of tourists in Crete.
"None of you would like the tourism of Crete with € 460 per capita expenditure", he said, adding that the same category of tourists from Germany who visited Crete, had a per capita expenditure in Cyprus of € 900.
"These things we need to know so that we do not slap ourselves," he added.
Answering other questions, Mr. Loizou pointed out that 38% of tourists who visited Cyprus chose all inclusive and were mainly in coastal areas and in certain months.
"We have to understand that it is a global trend, we can not change the world economy. The world economy has been greatly affected, people want some kind of more controlled vacation, fewer days. "They do this through all inclusive," he said.
During the discussion, both the President of the CTO and the Chairman of the Committee Averof Neophytou raised the issue of the bill for the creation of the Ministry of Tourism.
"We are unimaginably concerned about how we do the planning. We would also like to know where we stand on this issue ", said Mr. Loizou, adding that the CTO does not have the authority to make decisions on strategic issues, a responsibility that the Presidency and the Ministry of Commerce have.
For his part, Mr. Neophytou said that priority should be given to the discussion of this bill.
If this Parliament will vote in favor of the creation of a state ministry so that we know what the role of the CTO will be, if we vote against it, then let us know how to proceed.
While this bill is pending, the debate is creating many problems, he concluded.
The CTO budget for 2017 envisages expenditures of € 50,8 million compared to € 50,54 million in 2016.
Moreover, in his statements, DISY MP Onoufrios Koullas expressed his satisfaction for the substantial and significant increase in the tourist flow in 2016, which was achieved with the same budget amounting to approximately € 50 million per year.
Source: KYPE