Today, September 27, we celebrate World Tourism Day, a day when we used to talk about the achievements of our field. This year, however, will be a different Tourism Day, which instead of achievements, will refer more to the future of the sector, through the crisis that is passing.
Despite the difficulties, the tourism sector has always been resilient and is sure to recover in the coming years. Of course, any recovery will be gradual and, according to many experts, will not be complete before 2023 or even 2024.
What is changing?
So what is the new data? What will change in the tourism sector, after the brutal blow it received due to a pandemic? What are the global trends that tourism should respond to?
Global tourism has already begun to change and become more and more demanding in recent years. The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the emerging new trends:
- Slow tourism - the traveler is increasingly looking for holidays that have a 'slower' pace than the one that surrounds us in everyday life. This means avoiding crowds and exploring more authentic and hard-to-find places in a destination.
- Climate friendly holidays The trends of recent years want visitors, especially the younger ones, to care about the environment and not look for destinations that destroy their natural wealth.
- Extended stays - The new international trend for working from home, tourism translates into an opportunity to attract visitors for a longer period of time than in the past. Now, a traveler can more easily miss abroad for longer vacations, combining them with work from his vacation spot.
- Immersive travel - the traveler takes advantage of the opportunity presented for longer vacations, so as to 'live as a local' during his stay. So he is looking for ways to 'temporarily integrate' into the local community, through participation in festivals, events, etc.
- Boutique conferences - the conference sector will change dramatically, with increased demand for smaller conferences, focusing on quality rather than quantity. Many of these 'boutique' conferences will now be 'hybrid', ie they will give the opportunity to attendees or speakers to participate online.
- Holistic wellness - the field of health and wellness no longer refers only to massage therapies, aesthetics, etc. Health and wellness must now have a holistic aspect and be linked to healthy eating, activities in nature to reduce stress, mental health, detoxification programs, sun exposure for vitamin D absorption, fresh air inhalation, personalized medical examinations, etc. Also, the visitor will now want to know in advance whether a country's health system is reliable.
- Micro experiences - the visitor now wants to feel unique, participating in experiential activities, which do not move in the context of mass. He wants to explore, to taste, to experience something he will not find in any other destination on the planet.
- Small tours - the field of excursions will now be characterized by groups of smaller number of people, who may know each other e.g. members of the same family. Examples are safaris or customized tours to hard-to-find places in a destination. To avoid crowds, many of these excursions will take place during off-peak months.
- Luxury cruising - The mood to avoid the crowds is also observed in the cruise sector, where a significant market share will now choose overcrowded ships, with a maximum of about 800 passengers.
- Private jet travel Strict coronavirus detection protocols followed when flying by air have given an extra boost to private jet travel. They concern, of course, people with very high incomes, from countries such as Russia, Israel and the Arabian Gulf, who, instead of risking tracking and the consequent mandatory self-restraint, prefer to travel by private means. People of such income level expect similar high level services from the destinations that welcome them.
- Regional holidays - The travel uncertainty of recent months makes it unimaginably difficult to travel to distant tourist destinations. For Europe, this means, on the one hand, that it will be difficult to accommodate tourism from large markets such as the US and Asia, while on the other hand, it means that European citizens will prefer Europe itself for their holidays.
- Individual bookings - the reduction of mass will bring major changes in the field of organized travel (tour operating). Global demand for package travel is declining, increasing demand for individual travel as well as dynamic, personalized packages. It implies, of course, that in order to attract such visitors, the corresponding modification of the respective advertising campaigns from tourist destinations is needed. Now, the role of search engines and social media in tourism marketing is huge, and should be exploited accordingly.
What should be done?
So how should Cyprus react to all this? What needs to be done to make our tourism innovative and competitive?
Yes, Cyprus was in the process of upgrading its tourism product, but this upgrade should now be done at an even faster pace. The new National Tourism Strategy 2030 implemented by the Ministry of Tourism refers to many of the trends listed above. In fact, many actions have already started to be implemented, but in the two years 2021-22 the efforts should be intensified, so that our tourism sector is able to fully recover by 2023-24. Some of the actions that have been taken or will be taken in this direction by the State Department are the following:
- Modify our tourism marketing abroad - more emphasis will be placed on digital advertising.
- Foreign language development - the State Department will subsidize certified seminars in Greek (for non-Greek speakers), French, German and Russian, for people working in the tourism industry.
- Further development of special forms of tourism - there will be increased incentives for the development of special forms of tourism, which will be able to alleviate the problem of seasonality facing the country. Increased credits will also be available for niche marketing, through influencers of special forms of tourism.
- Sponsorship schemes to improve the tourism product - the State Department develops specialized sponsorship schemes for upgrading:
- tables and chairs in dining areas
- baskets in public places
Accessibility of beaches and other points of interest, for people with mobility difficulties
- bicycle storage infrastructure
Diving equipment
- beds and umbrellas on beaches
- public sanitary facilities
- wine tasting areas, inside wineries
- Authentic experience path - Creating an authentic route of up to 300 km in the mountains, countryside and outlying areas, which will be displayed digitally, thus giving travelers the opportunity to choose personalized experiences for their holidays, and make reservations online.
- Certification of tourism companies / points of interest - various certification standards of the Ministry of Tourism will be further established, e.g. Cyprus Wine Routes, Cyprus Breakfast, Taste of Cyprus, Blue Flag Beaches, E4 Nature Trails etc. Also, other certification standards will be created, such as 'Eco-sites' environmental points of interest, upgraded themed beaches, villages with special aesthetics, wine cellars commander and others.
- Acceleration of laws governing tourism - the Undersecretary is already in the process of harmonizing various laws. These are laws that concern Travel Organizers, leisure centers, theme parks, campgrounds and beaches.
Suggestions for changes of the utmost importance
In addition to the above, the State Department will seek, provided of course the support of various other bodies, the implementation of the following suggestions, which are also assessed as of utmost importance for the future of tourism:
- Promotion of a legal framework for the home industry, which will help develop visitable experiential experiences in various areas of Cyprus.
- A small increase in the building rate on agricultural land, so that people engaged in agriculture can also combine their profession with the provision of tourist accommodation.
- Promoting a legal framework for visitable farms, so that accommodation in wineries and other types of primary production enterprises is now allowed.
- Finding funds from European funds, for the restoration of houses in the mountains, in the countryside and in the remote areas, provided that they join the Cyprus Agritourism Company and offer services that will connect tourism with agriculture and / or home-made.
- Finding resources from European funds, for aesthetic upgrade of the central core in villages and communities
Pillar of the economy
In conclusion, it is obvious that everything is changing around us. Cyprus, which after the financial crisis of 2013, was called to significantly improve its tourism product, is called to do so again, to give a new impetus to its tourism industry. Of course, any success will not happen overnight… It requires constant effort and coordinated actions from all stakeholders, ie ministries, Parliament and the private sector. If we achieve this, on an overall level, there is no doubt that tourism will again be the pillar of our economy, within the next 2-3 years.
By Savvas Perdios - Deputy Minister of Tourism