The renewed product offered by Cyprus as a tourist destination was presented to tour operators in London on Thursday night by the Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios.
At a working dinner in central London, with in the presence of about 30 tour operators, mainly Mr. Perdios, a specialist in tourism and journalists in the sector, described how the package now offered by Cyprus is "being redefined and not simply repositioned". This means, as he explained, that it becomes more comprehensive, varied and flexible, which is reflected in the new logo that has Love as its main reference.
Mr. Perdios first spoke about changes which have been found in the behavior and preferences of travelers, largely due to the pandemic. He indicated that now Travelers want variety in the tourism product, seek to mingle with the locals and experience their habits, pay attention to their holiday imprint in the environment and now tend to make fewer trips but longer ones, so they should have many options where to go. found.
At the same time they are looking specialized experiences and activities, while the nature of bookings has changed, e.g. there are now more tourists traveling alone, closing at the last minute and those over 65 are now more familiar with digital destination search.
He then referred in detail to actions taken by Cyprus to adapt to the demands of this new travel reality. He noted, for example, the significant upgrade of the country's importance to rural tourism (with a new law on accommodation in farms and wineries, the emphasis on camping and luxury camping, legislation to certify food produced by individuals at home).
He also stood at infrastructure upgrade, including the marinas, the casino-resort, the golf facilities that will allow the holding of the Cyprus Open, the cycling routes and the important part of the famous Tour de France on the island in the next three years, as well as the improvement of the facilities on the beaches, even using ecological materials.
He added that with the use of Community funds, the tourism sector becomes more competitive and resilient, including by converting hotels into wellness destinations and upgrading agritourism.
He also stressed that now Cyprus launches 12 "labels" of individual tourist products, such as the "Cypriot breakfast", the 'Taste Cyprus' with the certification of the authenticity of the local cuisine and products, the wine routes, the blue flags of the Cypriot beaches, its trails nature, Troodos Geopark and theme parks. These individual offers to the visitor make the experience of traveling in Cyprus more unique and more lively.
End, presented the new tourist identity of the country, which aims, among other things, to highlight the social aspect of tourism, with a more holistic product that goes beyond the sun-sea model and upgrades e.g. mountain destinations and the countryside, but also generally non-summer destinations. This identity, which is summarized in the "honest statement" 'Love Cyprus', said Mr. Perdios, shows that "there is a lot to discover on the island, which is a mixture of Mediterranean experiences, with constant changes of landscapes and colors and a huge diversity of ethnicities." , cultures and persons ".
The presentation closed with a detailed promotion of the new logo for the Cypriot tourism, the word 'Love', which takes on different colors and uses, responding to the needs of the new tourist identity of the country.
Speaking to KYPE on the sidelines of the event, Mr. Perdios said that the presentation made to travel agents was the result of 18 months of hard work, so that Cyprus can highlight other aspects of its product, besides the sun and sea .
"It is a presentation that is constantly taking place abroad these days because we want very strongly to bring out this new message that Cyprus is sending," said the Undersecretary.
He added that his visit to London had another purpose. "It is also the contact with the traditional travel organizers who have been supporting Cyprus all these years. We wanted to see how they went this year, if they are satisfied with the destination and to see a little about their aspirations for the new year ".
As for what Cyprus should expect from tourism for 2022, he commented: "Despite the difficulties we still face today due to the pandemic, it seems that the omens are good, at least from the UK market. Starting this year, we said that it would be a transitional year, a bridge year that will lead us to the recovery of tourism in the coming years. Indeed, this is how it seemed that the year went. By the end of October we were almost 45% of arrivals compared to 2019 and this gives us the courage to believe that we will start with better omens in 2022 compared to 2021. I think it is now certain that we will do better than 2021 " .
He assessed that the messages from the critical British market are positive. "We realize that there is a lot of mood for travel. Let's not forget that too many people were deprived of the trip for two years and many of the reservations made for '20 or '21 have been transferred to '22. We feel that '22 will be a good year for the UK market. It will also depend on the outcome of the pandemic. "
Mr. Perdios completes on Friday the program of the visit which includes meetings with major travel organizers and other tourism actors, as well as interviews in British media.