Cyprus tourism should always be assessed and improved

The Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (Stek) on Monday said that ‘rethinking tourism’, the key theme of this year’s World Tourism Day, highlights the importance of the continuous improvement of Cyprus’ tourism industry.

“Stek considers the continuous and methodical evaluation of the country’s tourism product imperative, with the ultimate goal of transforming Cyprus into a quality tourist destination with all that entails,” the association said.

World Tourism Day, which takes place on September 27 every year and first began to be celebrated in 1980, marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Statutes of the World Tourism Organisation in 1970, which paved the way for the establishment of the UNWTO five years later.

The WTO explained that this year’s World Tourism Day aims to focus on the future, noting that “as the sector’s recovery gets underway and building on unprecedented political and public recognition for the sector, UNWTO will highlight the opportunity to rethink how we do tourism”.

“This means putting people and planet first and bringing everyone from governments and businesses to local communities together around a shared vision for a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient sector,” the organisation added.

Furthermore, the organisation said that the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in major ramifications, both on a social and economic level, with both developed and developing countries feeling the adverse effects of the outbreak and the safety measures enacted to combat its spread.

“The restart of tourism will help kickstart recovery and growth,” the UNWTO said.

“It is essential that the benefits this will bring are enjoyed widely and fairly,” it added, something which Stek said that it considers incredibly important.

Stek said that in Cyprus, the recovery of tourism is inextricably linked to the growth rates recorded by the Cypriot economy, a direct result of increased tourist arrivals and the revenue that this generates.

“We consider Cyprus tourism’s results to be encouraging if we take into account the losses of tourist flows from both Russia, the second largest tourist market for Cyprus, but also, to a lesser extent, Ukraine,” Stek said.

“In the current era, timely statistical information and in-depth analysis of tourism trends recorded after the pandemic are decisive factors, on which the actions that change and adjust our own tourist product must be based,” it added.

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, Stek president Akis Vavlitis said that Cyprus must remain alert and able to read the developments in a fast-changing environment, in order to adapt accordingly to any new trends.

“In our opinion, the key to success is collective action always aimed at the continuous improvement of the quality of our tourist product,” Vavlitis stated.

“In this context, we are called upon to lay the foundations for the green transition with a view to sustainable and sustainable development,” he concluded.