President called to appoint experienced tourism minister

CIMA: ‘new minister should focus on seasonality, connectivity and marketing’

The Cyprus Incentives and Meetings Associates (CIMA) has called for president-elect Nicos Christodoulides to carefully consider his appointment of a new Deputy Minister of Tourism, and opt for a person who comes from the tourism sector itself, something that would allow them to better understand the challenges and prospects going forward.

CIMA is part of the advisory committee of the Cyprus Convention Bureau under the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.

Its members include hotels and travel agencies specialising in conferences, corporate and special interest tourism, with the association noting that they are at the forefront of such forms of tourism on the island.

“We want to congratulate you on your recent election and wish you the best in managing the serious issues facing the country, starting with the appointment of your new cabinet, including the position of Deputy Minister of Tourism,” the association said in an open letter signed by CIMA board president Orestis Aristides.

The letter stressed that while it is only a deputy ministry, tourism represents 15 per cent of the country’s GDP and corresponding government revenue and should therefore be treated accordingly.

“The new Deputy Minister must be a person from the tourism industry, a person who understands the challenges facing tourism and has a clear vision of how the sector should develop until 2028 and beyond,” the letter said.

“There are many worthy people both in the deputy ministry and in the private sector in general,” it added, noting that the association hopes that “the new Deputy Minister will put quality over quantity as we need to move beyond the ‘Tourism Strategy’ formulated 10 years ago and implemented by the previous government”.

The association explained that Cyprus welcomed 4 million visitors in 2019, roughly 400 per cent of the island’s population.

In comparison, Italy, the second most visited country in Europe, received only about 110 per cent of its population, with similar percentages being recorded in other large European markets such as Spain and France.

“It is clear that we should not seek to attract more tourists but invest in quality,” CIMA said in their letter.

“Unfortunately, many people involved in tourism do not realise this, which is precisely why hoteliers today cannot find staff,” the association added.

CIMA also noted that the goal for Cypriot tourism is to invest in the necessary quality that will bring more highly paid jobs for Cypriot workers throughout the year, not just on a seasonal basis.

“The expenditure per visitor in Italy was approximately €1,600 euros in Cyprus only €770, which is less than half,” CIMA said.

“It is time to stop counting tourism arrivals and focus on added value. It’s time to focus on quality over quantity. This will be one of the challenges for your new government,” the association added.

What is more, according to the association, there are three areas to focus on that will in turn bring the right results. These are seasonality, connectivity and marketing.

“Seasonality is the biggest challenge,” CIMA said, noting that “winter tourism is by nature higher-end tourism”, since people will not visit Cyprus for cheap access to a sunny climate and to be by the beach.

“They come for specific events, corporate events, conferences, special interests, academic trips and so on,” CIMA added, stressing that its members are at the forefront of this industry, with the main lesson derived throughout the years being that connectivity is the key factor affecting seasonality.

The association also explained that while connectivity has improved somewhat in recent years, it remains a serious issue, with the winter flight schedule still being limited to very few markets.

“Flight subsidy programs are vital but need to be improved and strategically targeted,” CIMA said.

“We need programmes that stop the concentration of visitors in one or two markets and that promote flights during the winter,” it added.

As an example, the association said that there is no reason to subsidise flights from the United Kingdom, and formerly from Russia, during the summer, with the market already being saturated with dozens of daily flights.

Conversely, major capital cities such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, and Stockholm are only currently being served by a handful of flights during the winter if any at all.

“This makes it difficult to attract special interest segments and high-spending tourists,” CIMA said, stressing that Cyprus’ intention of holding events and international conferences throughout the winter is being undermined by this fact.

“As a diplomat, you surely understand the soft power generated for the country by such actions,” the association added, noting that while subsidies are a step in the right direction, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism needs to have a more dynamic strategy when implementing them.

In terms of marketing, the association said that this is currently being managed by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and the Cyprus Convention Bureau.

“The promoter that is being proposed must work together with the private sector,” CIMA said.

“This is done in Greece and elsewhere, where the platform for promoting Greece is not the Greek National Tourism Organisation, but a public-private partnership,” it added.

The association went on to explain that this initiative could be co-funded by the public and private sectors on a 50-50 basis, allowing the private sector to have a say in how the budget is being allocated.

“Today we have cases where exhibitions are cancelled at the discretion of the Deputy Ministry of Ministry, while agents and hoteliers must and want to attend,” CIMA said.

“Let me remind you that the taxes generated from hotels and tourist agents are much larger than the budget of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism,” it added.

CIMA concluded by saying that the new Deputy Minister of Tourism must be in constant contact with the private sector to coordinate marketing efforts.

“A public-private partnership with elected representatives of hoteliers and agents is now the only way forward.”