Cyprus steps up Middle East Marketing

The Mediterranean island of Cyprus is stepping up its marketing within the Middle East as it looks to woo more Arab visitors to its shores.

“The forthcoming establishment of a Cyprus Tourist Office in Dubai as well as increased public relations and advertising activities are tools we plan to use to establish Cyprus as an attractive destination for the Arab tourist,” said Photis Photiou, Chairman, Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO).

“Arab countries have always been an important tourist market for Cyprus. The proximity of the island to these markets, as well as common characteristics, makes Cyprus an attractive destination. Cyprus is actually the nearest European destination and around 60,000 tourists from this region visit Cyprus every year.”

Targeting of Middle East tourists, said Photiou, is part of the island long-term tourism strategy designed to secure the Cyprus tourist industry until 2010.

“The principal aims of the strategy are to achieve sustainable development of the tourist sector in Cyprus which will enhance the natural, cultural and social environment, to maximise the economic benefits of tourism, to be flexible and ready to respond to changes in the international environment and to enhance the competitiveness and appeal of Cyprus as a tourist destination.”

The strategy’s vision is to establish Cyprus as a quality destination, addressing the need of tourists with diverse interests and securing the continuous improvement of the quality of life for Cypriots.

“The new strategy proposes a change in direction away from the traditional focus on the volume of tourist arrivals towards the objective of doubling receipts from tourism in real terms by the year 2010,” said Photiou.

“We will pursue this objective by attempting to increase the per capita spend of tourists to around CY£512, to increase the average length of stay to around 12 days, to secure a more even seasonal spread of tourist arrivals, to secure repeat business and increase the overall number of arrivals to a maximum of 3.5 million by 2010.

“The strategy attempts to reposition Cyprus on the global tourist map as a destination offering more than just sun-and-sea and to create a clear and distinct image for the island.”

The CTO Chairman said the new strategic positioning of Cyprus followed an indepth assessment of the island’s core values and unique selling points.

“The characteristic of great diversity in a small geographic space was identified as the concept on which the new positioning of Cyprus can be based,” he said.

“The diversity in the case of Cyprus has a special meaning that needs to be revealed through the tourist development. It relates to the island’s multi-dimensional historic, cultural and social heritage, its rich and varied physical structure, its geographic position, varied landscape and natural beauty and the variety of experiences that the visitor can engage in, in relatively short distances.

“Cyprus is an attractive European tourist destination offering diversified natural beauty, an enviable healthy climate as well as spectacular scenery marked by golden beaches, picturesque villages and cool, pine-clad mountains. In addition, Cyprus has a distinctive archaeological and cultural wealth originating from its long history. All these, combined with the friendliness and traditional hospitality of the Cypriot people and the excellent services that are provided, attract over 2.5 million tourists every year.”