Cyprus investment agency puts spotlight on tourism sector

Invest Cyprus on Friday released a statement outlining the targeted actions that it has taken to attract investments in the tourism and hospitality sector, within the context of its successful participation in the IDEEA Hospitality Investment Forum in Prague.

“In one of the premier conferences in the tourism and hospitality industry, the IDEEA Hospitality Investment Forum held from September 18 to 20 in Prague, attracting entrepreneurs and investors with interests and actions in Central European countries, Invest Cyprus took part in showcasing the advantages of Cyprus as an investment destination,” the statement explained.

According to the announcement, the organisation acted as one of the main sponsors of the IDEEA event and robustly presented Cyprus as an attractive investment destination, highlighting investment opportunities in the market.

It also showcased incentives available to investors, and the transformation of the tourism sector, once again placing Cyprus on the map of major and competitive tourist destinations.

During the conference, Invest Cyprus participated in one of the central panels, along with similar organisations from Greece and Albania, namely Enterprise Greece and Albania Investment Corporation.

The discussion centred around the topic of markets that are currently on the rise and what they can do to improve their overall tourism product.

The agency noted that emphasis was placed on the comparative advantages of Cyprus in attracting investments in the tourism sector, such as the current momentum of the island’s economy, the resurgence of the hospitality sector, Cyprus’ geographical location, and the attractive tax system.

During the discussion, Stephanie Panayi, Head of Strategic Projects, stated that “as the state’s investment promotion agency, it is essential to continuously evaluate our country’s investment environment with the aim of improving incentives and observing trends as they emerge, particularly regarding new opportunities and investments in significant projects in the tourism sector”.

“Our priority is to attract investment capital into sustainable developments and projects that will boost our country’s economy,” Panayi explained.

“We can now confidently say that the sector is rebounding at a pace reminiscent of the record year of 2019, as we are particularly pleased with the interest we receive from major investment funds, evaluating our country for investments,” she added.

This year’s IDEEA conference focused on the theme “how the tourism and hospitality sector can shape a new future for the region,” with particular focus placed on a number of distinct issues.

These include the future of the tourism and hospitality sector and new markets, sustainable development and the methods followed for implementing SDGs, and new investment trends in wellness tourism projects.

In addition, the conference tackled the ongoing issue of inflation and how it has affected the hotel industry, as well as the expectations of the tourism investment community and the current direction of travel in terms of ongoing and future investments.

Panayi described the participation of the organisation in the IDEEA Hospitality Investment Forum in Prague as successful and noted that through this specific conference, they had the opportunity to showcase Cyprus and the country’s strategy for attracting investments in the tourism sector.

“These conferences,” she said, “give us the opportunity to listen to the demands of the investment community and highlight our own advantages”.