Cyprus aims to be among 30 top tourism countries by 2030

Cyprus’ goal is to be included in the top 30 World Tourism ranking, a list of countries compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation by 2030, Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios said on Wednesday.

Speaking after the end of the Council of Ministers meeting, which tabled the national tourism strategy for the next decade, Perdios also said the aim is to increase tourism’s contribution to the economy, from €2.9 billion to €4.5 billion per year.

Cyprus is currently ranked 44^th in the world in terms of how many tourists it receives, with Spain taking first place, followed by France. Greece is currently ranked 25^th.

“We have a lot of work to do in order to make it into the top 30 countries in the world, which is a very important goal for our nation over the course of the next decade,” Perdios said.

The national strategy for tourism will be presented to parliament on January 21 and will consist of five pillars:

to make Cyprus a full-time tourist destination.
to encourage tourists to visit only the coastal areas, but he entire island.
to establish Cyprus as a quality destination, with better facilities and increased competitiveness.
for Cyprus to become more efficient in the use of digital technology.
to improve sustainability in tourism.

Regarding the last pillar, Perdios explained that the country’s image as an environmentally friendly destination should be strengthened.

“This,” he added, “is particularly important if we are to target countries such as the Scandinavian ones, which have made enormous strides in this aspect and, as such, their people are interested in choosing destinations that care about the environment and climate change.”

Perdios also said he hopes “that, in the course of the next decade, the tourism industry will be able to contribute to €4.5 billion per year to the country’s economy.

“This would come from an increase in overnight stays. The goal is to raise the per capita spending from €75 per day to €90 by 2030.”

Perdios also reassured no negative results are expected after Thomas Cook’s collapse in September 2019, adding that so far Brexit does not appear to have affected Cyprus, though he said “it is something we are constantly monitoring.”

Perdios also added that the announcement of the a tourism branding of Cyprus is expected in the coming months, and that it “will give an additional boost to the country’s tourism, not only this year but for the coming years.”

He also said projections for tourism in 2020 are at the same level as last year, adding that actions are being taken to develop new markets such as Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries.

Finally, as far as flights arriving to the island, Perdios said there would be a 20 per cent increase in arrivals from Germany.

Source: Cyprus Mail