Participants at a meeting of the board of directors of the Paphos regional board of tourism recently, agreed a preliminary budget and a promotional action plan for next year.

An announcement said that an action plan was drawn up taking into account, primarily, that Paphos will be the European Capital of Culture 2017, an honour it will share will Aarhus in Denmark

“We will continue efforts to upgrade and promote the district and the special experiences and products which differentiate the Paphos district from the others. We will target markets with good air connections, and also target markets of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, as well as private partners and markets with good perspectives,” it said.

The budget will allow for the upgrading of printed and electronic material which is a presentation of the area, reinforcement of participation in specialised exhibitions and workshops abroad, to further develop wedding tourism, sports tourism, rural tourism, winter tourism and other niches.

In addition, efforts will be increased to host journalists, bloggers and other tourism partners in Paphos. The use of social media to promote the district and events will be upgraded and efforts will also focus on attracting domestic tourism to the district, especially due to the Pafos2017 title, it said.

“Also participation in European programmes and the possible granting of funds to Paphos, primarily for investment in the betterment of the organisation of the tourism product and the tourism experience offered across the province, is very important.”

The tourism board added that visitor numbers for 2017 are looking positive so far, according to the relevant bookings and enquiries at travel agencies and airlines from several key markets.

“Both the Paphos regional board of tourism and its partners are optimistic that next year could reach record numbers and further contribute to solving the chronic problem of seasonality.”

Source: Cyprus Mail