Tourist arrivals will take several years to recover, Tourism Minister says

Cypriot deputy minister of tourism Savvas Perdios used his attendance at the Meet in Cyprus 2021 virtual expo to provide an update on the country’s efforts to keep tourism afloat during the pandemic.

Recovery estimates

Perdios cooled down any notions that the forthcoming tourist season will signal any sign of recovery, before dubbing the current year as a transitory one.

“It will still take 3-4 years for our industry to recover. I think the year 2023 has been earmarked, maybe even 2024, for a full recovery in terms of arrivals. We in Cyprus also see things along those lines and view 2021 as a bridge year between the disaster of 2020 and the beginning of the recovery in 2022,” Perdios said during a panel session.

“So, I do not like to discuss 2021 as the start of a recovery. I still think that we are in an in-between state. In between a disaster year in 2020 and a year in 2022 where things are going to look a bit more stable,” the deputy minister added.

Perdios also alluded to how early we are in our efforts to get out of the pandemic.

“Let’s be honest, we are in the middle of a third wave. There’s still a lot left to be done. Progress in terms of the vaccination campaign is still basic at best. So this is going to be yet another challenging year for all of us and we must make sure that businesses stay alive,” he said.

“What is a certainty and I am excited to hear is that when full recovery is here tourism is going to look different than it does today,” Perdios stated, hinting at all the efforts done by Destination Management Companies (DMC), travel agents, tour operators, hotel owners, and other expo attendees to improve the industry in Cyprus.

Savvas Perdios at the Meet in Cyprus 2021 Virtual Expo

Preparations in Cyprus

Perdios explained that as difficult as things may be for tourism in Cyprus, the island is still in a healthier position than other European countries.

“In regards to Cyprus, we have done an absolutely incredible amount of work so that we are ready to be open for travel since March 1. We are one of the very, very few countries in Europe that are open for tourism. We opened to the EU on March 1 and we opened to some additional markets outside the EU on April 1. When I say open, I don’t mean open but with obligatory quarantine for visitors,” Perdios stated.

The deputy minister broke down how Cyprus decided to deal with foreign visitors and how the country has tried to help business entities within the tourism industry.

“We have provided guarantees to around 60 source markets that they will be able to fly here without stoppages in their schedules and without quarantines. You just need to have the test results that correspond to the category your country is in. We have a traffic light system. If you come from a red category country you will need two tests, a PCR test before flying and another test on arrival,” he said.

“I wish more countries would come out to support this system because travel and tourism cannot even restart with quarantines and sudden lockdowns in place. We wanted to create this framework in order to create a safe and stable environment for airlines, tour operators and our partners abroad,” Perdios added.

Proactivity is key

Perdios stated that in contrast with popular belief Cyprus was not on standby for instructions or guidelines to arrive from abroad and set out to chart its own path in regards to tourism policies.

“Our industry is not a button you can press and it’s suddenly back on. It needs advanced planning. We did not sit down and wait for decisions from other EU governments. We decided to go ahead irrespective of what’s going to ultimately happen with the proposed vaccination passports, the Green Pass, and other such ideas,” he said.

“These are fantastic ideas and will we bring them on board when and if they are finally implemented. But we only wanted that to be the cherry on top of our cake,” Perdios explained.

Meet in Cyprus 2021 a success

The Meet in Cyprus 2021 virtual expo has been deemed a ‘resounding success’ by its organiser, the Cyprus Incentives and Meetings Associates (CIMA). The event was also supported and co-sponsored by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and Hermes Airports.

Speakers included representatives from the Cyprus Convention Bureau, the Tourism Boards of Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaka, Famagusta, Paphos and Troodos, and others.

The expo included more than 20 exhibitors, including some of Cyprus’ biggest hotels and destination management companies, attracting more than 300 virtual visitors from 37 countries.