Cyprus’ Rebuilt Tourism Industry Looks to the Future

By Janet McMahon

Twenty-five years ago tourism in Cyprus ground to a halt. With the invasion by Turkey and resulting division of the island, the most popular destinations of Kyrenia and Famagusta, where most of the coastal tourism hotels were located, were suddenly cut off from the rest of the island.

“We started from nothing” to rebuild this vital industry, Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO) officer Christos Moustras told the Washington Report.

The 2.22 million tourists who visited the island in 1998 attest to the overwhelming success of that effort. Indeed, in the last few years, Moustras said, new hotel construction has been “leveling off.”

“It’s not forbidden,” he explained, “but the new planning law requires more land to build a hotel. And, having no need for additional [hotel] rooms, we’ve almost reached the saturation point—so it’s no longer such a profitable investment.”

With the exception of the Hilton Hotel in Nicosia, all hotels on the island are privately owned by Cypriots, many of whom lost their hotels in the north and started over in Paphos or Limassol. The law does allow joint ventures, requiring 51 percent Cypriot ownership except in special cases.

This is not to say, of course, that Cyprus is abandoning the industry which accounts for one-fifth of its total employment and approximately 20 percent of its gross domestic product as well. Instead Moustras and his colleagues are developing ways to supplement the island’s traditional May to October beach-oriented tourist experience. One aspect of the effort to increase off-season tourists, for example, is a greater emphasis on Nicosia as a location for seminars and diplomatic activities. Cultural highlights such as carnival week in Limassol are also being offered as alternative attractions.

Greater emphasis is also being placed on the extensive network of nature trails as an incentive for walkers, hikers and nature-lovers. And the evidence of 9,000 years of history—from archeological sites to Byzantine churches—is “part of the landscape” of Cyprus, Moustras noted.

Befitting its location at “the crossroads of the Mediterranean,” Cyprus draws visitors from all over the Middle East, as well as from Europe. A 25-minute plane ride from Lebanon and an hour and 15 minutes from Cairo, the island was visited by some 100,000 of its neighbors, 55,000 of whom were tourists, in 1998. Visitors were about equally divided between the Levant and the Gulf countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain.

By comparison, the number of North Americans visiting Cyprus was small: some 25,000 in 1998, 20,000 of whom were from the United States. However, Moustras does have his eye on the growing cruise industry, which brought 22,000 Americans to Cyprus last year. Although unable to explain the phenomenon, Moustras noted that “80 percent of cruisegoers are Americans. But the popularity of cruises seems to be spreading to other countries as well.”

Intrigued by the potential of this expanding market, Moustras envisions “Cyprus as a jumping-off point for U.S. travel between Egypt and Israel,” with package tours flying tourists to Cyprus, where they would then board a cruise ship to explore the region by sea.

Having recovered economically from the trauma of 1974, and secure in the knowledge that “Cyprus will always be a main destination for Europe,” the government increasingly is turning its attention to the environment and to the needs of its own citizens. Despite the proliferation of private hotels in some parts of the island, the beaches “are accessible to everyone,” Moustas said, and planned improvements such as boardwalks will make them even more so.

The recent law requiring larger plots for new hotel construction indicates an increased emphasis on the environment and beautification. Moreover, these new restrictions do not seem to be imposed on an unwilling populace. Rather, Moustras explained, “it’s a matter of how people feel about their environment, rather than legislation.”

Janet McMahon is the managing editor of the Washington Report.

SIDEBAR

Cyprus’ Tour Guides Set International Standard

Any visitor to Cyprus who has been the beneficiary of a guided tour by one of the country’s licensed tour guides comes away greatly impressed by the breadth of knowledge required. Art, history, archeology, geography, political science, economics, meteorology—it seems these professionals are conversant with every subject imaginable!

The World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA), headquartered in Vienna and London, seems to agree: president Deborah Androus of Washington, DC told the Washington Report that the international non-profit organization is establishing its first regional training center in Cyprus, to be held in Nicosia and Pathos. Future regional centers for Asia and North America—possibly in Hong Kong and Washington, DC, respectively—are expected to follow.

Established in 1985, the WFTGA emphasizes education, outreach, and increased awareness of the profession. The full-fledged training programs which the new regional centers will offer evolved from the “refresher” courses the WFTGA began offering several years ago at its annual conventions. In addition to providing curriculum development for government-sponsored guide-training schools worldwide, the organization, recognizing the potential opportunities for its members as consultants and small-business owners, has developed “training the trainer” courses, which will form the core of its curriculum at the regional centers.

Why Cyprus? “It’s a country of incredible hospitality,” Androus said, “and it’s very travel-friendly. In many ways it is the epitome, the hallmark of what tourism can offer.”

In addition to its geographic location, obviously ideal for a regional center, Androus cited the “great government support” her organization has received, including the possibility of a collaboration with the University of Cyprus.

Cyprus “has so many sites to offer” trainees, she continued. In addition to the “rich antiquity” for which the island is famous, Androus also pointed out that “the current [political] situation is actually very useful as a teaching tool, because a guide has to know how to address sensitive issues.”

The WFTGA’s connection with Cyprus extends to the past as well as the future. Androus’ predecessor as president is Titina Loizidou (see story p. 77), who served from 1993 until earlier this year. Most intriguing, however, is the origin of International Tourist Guide Day, observed every Feb. 21 and now in its tenth year.

On that day, Androus explained, “guides offer tours to their hometown neighbors,” at no charge, and with the assistance of motor coach companies, restaurants and other sectors of the tourism industry. On that day local guides lead only local residents—no out-of-town tours are scheduled.

Each participating community develops its own program. For example, the WFTGA chapter in Washington, DC this year offered tours of embassies (including that of Cyprus). A total of six embassies opened their doors to interested Washingtonians. As Androus commented, “A lot of people who have lived here all their lives have never been inside an embassy.”

In other countries, International Tour Guide Day has expanded beyond its original purpose. In Nepal, for example, a national blood drive is conducted on that day. Everywhere, however, “the whole point is to highlight the profession” of tour guiding, Androus said.

The inspiration for this innovative annual event takes us back again to an island whose people have had to recreate their lives, economy and culture. An offspring of this necessity was “Get to Know Cyprus Week,” when Cypriot guides take their compatriots, many of whom had fled their native villages, to sites and regions often new to them, in an effort to help them become acquainted with their new surroundings.

“It began as a humanitarian effort,” Androus explained, “as part of the rebuilding” of Cyprus that faced refugees and non-refugees alike, and, to the benefit of us all, has evolved into an annual occasion for people all around the world to get to know their own hometowns.

—J.M.