Cyprus: desperately looking for tourists

Gone is the image of all-inclusive hotels and the lazy beaches of Limassol, the tourist capital of Cyprus. Russians, second clientele on the island behind the English, having left for an indefinite period, it is necessary to find other sources of foreign currency.

So Cyprus draws the map of responsible, ecological and sustainable tourism, to seduce a new public, and why not the French? They were 40,000 before the Covid crisis, it’s barely 1% of total arrivals, but Christophe Chaillou is hopeful that this will progress.

The Frenchman has lived in Cyprus for more than forty years, where he runs an incoming tourism agency. “There are agritourism, traditional hotels, spas in the middle of the forest, which are fantastic products that are out of the ordinary.“

Especially since where the shoe pinches, the air service to Cyprus is improving a little: “Since this year, we have had a number of direct flights from France, Paris, Marseille, Beauvais as well, details Christophe Chaillou. We think that for 2023, it looks pretty good.“

The Greco-Roman theater of the ancient city-kingdom of Kourion which overlooks the sea 70 m. There are also fine 4th-century mosaics from the house of Eustolios (EMMANUEL LANGLOIS/FRANCEINFO)

Promotion campaign

French tour operators follow the destination closely. The Salaün Holidays group already offers a grand tour of the island in eight days and a Christmas market stay this winter, inspired by Alsace. For Jean-Michel Caradec, general manager of services at Salaün HolidaysChypre have some‘coming :

“The post-Covid situation and the conflict in Ukraine have profoundly changed the habits of our customers. Today, we have a lot less long haul. We have to find other solutions. We were a major tour operator ourselves, especially in Russia, and so we have to find destinations and this is one of them, clearly.“

Savvas Perdios, Cypriot Minister of Tourism: “We want people to be able to come during the winter and also visit our villages and the true authenticity of the island” (EMMANUEL LANGLOIS/FRANCEINFO)

The Cypriot government is pulling out all the stops to try to replace 2.3 million tourists missing, between Russes and English, and compensate for a loss estimated at 600 million euros this year. He will Thus dedicate 15% of its budget total to a promotional campaign for the destination. Savvas Perdios, Minister of Tourism, clearly displays the color: “On is a very popular destination during the summer, thanks to the beach, the sun and the sea. What we are doing is giving more options for people so that they can come during the winter and also visit our villages and frankly see the true authenticity of the island. It’s the two together !“

Jean-Michel Caradec (Salaün Holidays, left) and Christophe Chaillou (Creative Tours) in Limassol: “Cyprus is a very popular destination during the summer. We will give more options for people so that they can come too Winter” (EMMANUEL LANGLOIS/FRANCEINFO)

A true identity

The problem is that Cyprus has long suffered from a lack of image and identity. Some people still think it’s a Greek island! The case is important. In this small country of just over a million people, the tourism sector accounted for up to 15% of GDP in good years before Covid.

Moment of relaxation at the swimming pool of the OenouYi winery (Ktima Vassiliades) in Omodos, which organizes tastings, in the region of the wine villages, on the foothills of Mount Troodos dominated by Mount Olympus. (EMMANUEL LANGLOIS/FRANCEINFO)

The advantage of Cyprus is to be accesseswheat in all seasons, assures Jean-Michel Caradec, general manager of services at Salaün Holidays :

“It’s a four and a half hour flight from Paris and you can go there all year round. It’s good to have possibilities during the French holidays, but we have retirees in particular who travel all year round. And a destination where you find in the middle of winter, 20 or 22 degrees, it remains very attractive for this clientele.“

The future will quickly tell if this new positioning of Cyprus, more nature and plus green, works. A recent survey showed In any case what 44% of French people were ready to pay more for a stay in order to travel more sustainably, provided that the offer exists.

The old port completely revisited and the new marina of Limassol, near the old quarter of the medieval castle where the marriage of Richard Coeur de Lion and Bérengère of Navarre was celebrated in 1191 (EMMANUEL LANGLOIS/FRANCEINFO)

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