The ten-year national tourism strategy 2020-2030 will bring a 30 per cent increase in revenue and see yearly arrivals reach up to 5.15 million in 2030 from 4 million now, deputy tourism minister Savvas Perdios said on Tuesday.
He was presenting the strategy to the House committee on energy, commerce, industry and tourism.
In remarks after the presentation, Perdios said this is the first time Cyprus has a ten-year-strategy, noting the goal was to “sustainably develop Cypriot tourism for the benefit of the economy, society and the environment.”
He then referred to the five pillars on which the strategy is based.
The first concerns the conversion of Cyprus to a year-round tourist destination, the second is to extend the benefits of tourism from coastal areas to mountainous and rural areas. The third pillar is to make the country a quality tourist destination, the fourth one to become a ‘smart’ destination for the use of digital technologies for tourism decisions, and the fifth to become an environmentally friendly, climate-sensitive destination.
If we achieve these goals, Cyprus will be among the 30 most popular tourist destinations by 2030, Perdios said, referring to the position of Cyprus in attracting numbers of tourists. It is now in 43rd place.
According to the deputy minister, the plan has hundreds of actions and the contribution of all ministries and departments is needed. He pointed out that 80 per cent depend on actions by other ministries and services and for those the tourism ministry merely has a coordinating role.
Referring to quantitative targets, he said the aim is to increase per-capita spending from €75 to €87 per day.
Total revenue should go up from €3 billion to €4.5 billion, and the number of overnight stays in rural and mountainous areas is projected to increase from 100,000 to 400,000 per year. Under the plan the share of tourists from November to April will go up from 22 per cent now to 39 per cent in ten years.
Akel, Edek and Diko welcomed the plan and pledged their support for its implementation.
