Cyprus Agrotourism Company (Kea) director Annita Demetriadou on Tuesday said that the island’s rural tourism product must be constantly bolstered, citing various aspects that require the organisation’s involvement.

The company has been operating for 26 years and has a total of 115 members, of which 76 are hotel owners, while 38 members are owners of numerous agrotourism-related companies such as wineries, makers of various organic products and apiaries.

cyprus mail tourism annita demetriadou kea agrotourism

Cyprus Agrotourism Company (Kea) director Annita Demetriadou

“The change in the company’s articles of association in 2020 allowed the integration of other related companies, besides agrotourism accommodation, and is fully in line with the recent data and trends that contribute to the creation of a modern tourism product,” Demetriadou said during the company’s annual general meeting.

“The preferences of tourists, which include, among others, forms that focus on avoiding large crowds, their interest in the natural environment and experiences related to the local community, require the continuous upgrading of the rural tourism product, thus strengthening the role of the Cyprus Agritourism Company,” Demetriadou added.

Moreover, the Kea director explained that the coronavirus pandemic, which she described as one of the greatest challenges that humanity has experienced, confirmed the importance of implementing the company’s actions, which in turn facilitate achieving the goals of the National Tourism Strategy 2030.

Furthermore, Demetriadou said that despite the blow to the tourism sector in 2021, there was still an increase in arrivals and expenditure per visitor when compared to 2020, something which was made possible by the effective implementation of health protocols.

As mentioned during her address, members of the company participated in the government’s Domestic Tourism Support Plan, while other members also benefited from the Experiential Laboratories Grant Programme, with the latter set to continue in 2022, with an increase in the number of workshops from 800 to 3,000.

“Last year, twenty communities benefited from the grant scheme for local projects with a tourism aspect, allowing them to improve their infrastructure and image, including Lania, Alona, ​​Inia, Statos Agios Fotios and Agios Theodoros in the Larnaca district,” Demetriadou said.

“In order to continue the implementation of such projects, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism has secured funding under the EU Recovery and Sustainability Mechanism, and will publish a call for proposals in 2022,” she added.

The Kea director also mentioned two additional initiatives by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, one being the Colourful Villages of Cyprus, which the ministry describes as “having in mind the principles of sustainability and how to best apply them in a traditional village setting, and the other being the promotion of villages with a Christmas theme.

Regarding the first initiative, 15 villages have already expressed interest in participating, with the first villages set to be awarded the relevant special label in 2022.

The label can be earned through the implementation of various actions, such as the planting of flowers and plants and the landscaping of facades.

Finally, regarding the Christmas-themed villages, these first operated in 2021 with great success across five Troodos communities, with the programme set to expand to more villages in 2022.