Enhancing special forms of tourism, such as agrotourism, religious and conference tourism in order to provide incentives for visiting during the winter months was essential, according to the survey, conducted among 500 tourists who visited Cyprus during February and March using structured questionnaires.

“The survey aimed to record the travel motivation of tourists who had selected Cyprus as their destination for their winter vacations and to compare Cyprus with other markets,” said Petros Petrakis, partner in charge of Hospitality and Leisure at PwC.

Petrakis said “89% of the tourists who were questioned said that the main reason they come to Cyprus is because of the sunshine, secondly, 53% said they come to see and taste the Cypriot culture and 42% said that they come for health and leisure.

From the answers given, there is clearly an interest in sustainability in so far as the tourist destination and the quality of service is concerned, the report said.

According to the survey, there were special forms of tourism such as agrotourism, religious tourism, conference tourism and mountain tourism, which appeared to lag behind other destinations as a favourable destination over winter months. There was also a problem meeting that expectation of visitors.

On the other hand the report stated that the mild winter climate, the number of days of sunshine and higher temperatures compared to other destinations, particularly of central and Eastern Europe, was the main incentive for visiting Cyprus over winter months.

“The Cypriot tourism product has the ability to beenriched from activities in special forms of tourism and health tourism,” Petrakis stated.

Tourist who had an opportunity to see this developed a brand loyalty during the winter season, he concluded.

Source: Cyprus Mail