May Newsletter
This Month's Feature:
CYPRUS SET TO ATTRACT RECORD LEVELS OF GULF VISITORS
Aphrodite's Island lures sports, meetings and incentives
travellers
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus will see a massive
18 per cent increase in visitor arrivals from the Middle
East and Gulf in 2006. The announcement came during a
speech to tourism journalists by the Chairman of the Cyprus
Tourism Organisation, Mr Photis Photiou. He confirmed
that nearly 50,000 tourists visited the island from the
Middle East and Gulf in 2005, but the first four months
of 2006 had seen numbers soar by 18 per cent over the
same period last year.
Mr Photiou said: "Total international arrivals in 2005
were more than 2.5 million, with a five per cent increase
over 2004. We are also optimistic that 2006 will be a
better year on the whole for Cyprus with arrivals expected
to be seven to eight per cent higher - better than our
initial estimates." He added that total visitor revenues
were also likely to increase by two to three per cent.
This underlined the Cyprus Tourism Organisation's main
strategy goal of increasing the amount of money spent
on the island by visitors. Cyprus has also been aggressive
in attracting travellers from the meetings, incentive,
conference and exhibitions (MICE) sector - taking advantage
of the short flying times from the Middle East.
Mr Vassilis Theocharides, Director of Cyprus Tourism Organisation,
Middle East and Arabian Gulf office and a participant
at the Kuwait International Travel and Tourism Exhibition
(7-10 May 2006) said: "Many of our visitors are impressed
by the quality of our hotels and services offered to meet
the needs of the most discerning clients - whether for
leisure or business.
"In fact, in the first quarter of 2006 we have had a surge
in the number of incentive groups coming from the Middle
East, which exploited the proximity of Cyprus and the
diversity offered in such a small geographic location."
He added that many destination management companies, businesses
and corporate clients were now taking advantage of extremely
competitive rates and cool winters to organise incentive
events.
A second cause for celebration has been the growth in
Sports Tourism. Mr Theocharides said Cyprus had benefited
from the large number of athletes and European soccer
clubs now choosing Cyprus for their training needs during
the winter months. He confirmed that Cyprus Tourism Organisation
will continue working with key regional tour operators,
and would be undertaking an intense marketing campaign
throughout the Middle East.
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