Our View: CTO has done little to halt tourist decline
THE CYPRUS Tourism Organisation’s 10-year strategic plan for tourism completes its cycle this year and the consensus is that it was a spectacular flop. None of the main objectives set out in 2001 were realised, presumably because none of the grandiose plans it envisaged were ever implemented. The plans remained ideas on paper, discussed at countless inter-departmental meetings by disinterested bureaucrats, who never had any intention of putting them into practice.
When Giorgos Lillikas took over as Commerce Minister in 2003, he updated the strategic plan and in announcing its main provisions, said in all seriousness “there would be an emphasis on implementation.” This said it all about the government’s strategic plans. Despite Lillikas’ good intentions, the emphasis was not put on implementation; if it was, the process moved so slowly that nothing came close to being put into practice.
The failure of the CTO and successive Commerce Ministers was highlighted at a tourism conference on Tuesday, during which the president of the Association of Tourism Enterprises (STEK), Akis Vavlitis made a scathing critique of tourism policies. While the strategic plan had been updated in 2003 and 2007, the project targets were never met, he said.
Most are beach resorts where buyers purchase stakes in villas or apartments, although there are ski developments and specialist golf resorts too.