Elie Milky, Vice President of Development for Radisson Hotel Group for the Middle East, Pakistan, Cyprus and Greece, described a global trend towards the use of serviced apartments and said the group was responding to new demand from guests “who are looking to travel again, but in a safe and physically distanced manner” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

George Campanellas, Chief Executive of Invest Cyprus, the national investment promotion agency, which is working on a National Strategy to turn Cyprus into a leading tourism and hospitality investment destination, said: 

“We are delighted that leading hotel brands such as Radisson Hotels has chosen Cyprus to expand, adding over 500 new rooms and apartments. This shows a major vote of confidence in the tourism and hospitality sector in Cyprus during a hugely challenging time for the global economy. It is also a great example of how major companies are working with Cyprus to find innovative ways to address challenges brought on by the pandemic and to support local businesses and generate jobs.”

Radisson Hotel Group already has five hotels, resorts, and serviced apartments with over 800 keys in operation and under development across Cyprus, making it the largest international hotel group on the island. The planned Radisson Beach Resort Larnaca (pictured) will offer an additional 202 keys and will be the city’s first internationally branded resort when it opens this summer. Construction is also starting “in the coming months” on the island’s first branded serviced apartments product, also under the Radisson Blu brand. In addition, the recently signed strategic partnership with Sunnyseeker Hotels and Quality Group will mark the group’s entry into Nicosia with a 271-key property that “will change the skyline of the city” when it opens in 2024, said Mr Milky.

Setting out why Radisson had selected Cyprus for expansion, Mr Milky said:

“With only 1% of the 500 hotels on the island under an international brand, we identified this as an opening to penetrate the market with the right partners. The pandemic and resulting economic climate have also made independent hotel owners more open to branding opportunities given the strict cleaning and prevention standards that guests are looking for, and the opportunity to access more markets and international guests.”

He added: “What sets Cyprus apart as a successful tourism destination is stability, opportunity, and location. The Cypriot government also strongly supported the process of developing the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and has repeatedly expressed its commitment to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which makes the island an even more attractive destination for tourism and investment.”

Mr Milky said that the pandemic had boosted the trend towards serviced apartments. “Even before the pandemic, serviced apartments made up 10% of our EMEA portfolio with 45 properties and more than 5,400 keys in operation and under development. This has been further strengthened with additional announcements for new serviced apartments properties in Amsterdam, Paris, Larnaca, Nicosia and elsewhere. Our group plans to almost triple our serviced apartments portfolio within the next five years.”

Looking ahead, he said: “Guests are looking to travel again, but in a safe physically distanced manner. There will be more focus on cleanliness and there will also be more demand for resorts, serviced apartments, and branded hospitality real estate due to their element of trust, standards, and the diversified distribution channels that come with it. We will start seeing more conversion and branding opportunities as a result.

“We will also see much more reliance on technology as it will be a key tool in the revival of our sector. Almost every aspect of the hospitality experience will have a digital component. There will always be a need for physical meetings and interactions, but business meetings will likely move to a more hybrid set-up, with smaller teams getting together in one location and connecting with others via videoconference, and this will be a huge opportunity for the hospitality industry.”

Invest Cyprus has launched several new initiatives to attract investment in the tourism and hospitality sector, part of which is a dedicated project bank under its specialized and dedicated unit  TourInvest Cyprus, which lists all investment opportunities available in the sector. Its focus is on promoting investment opportunities in diversified tourism segments such as medical/health and wellness, sports, conference but also tourism projects in the rural areas, under the objective to turn the island into an all year-round destination.