By Bejay Browne.
The Paphos regional board of tourism is looking towards the domestic market to kickstart the sector and expects the government to give the green light to lift restrictive measures put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
In addition, it expects competitive prices to be offered by accommodation providers across the board.
“Indications from hotels and other providers are that competitive prices will be offered in order to attract domestic tourism and it is this market that will resume the sector as a whole,” a spokesman for the board told the Paphos Post.
“April, May and June are exceptional months for short getaways and holidays and we are not expecting International visitors before the end of May,” he added.
The board is actively contributing to the anticipated restart of the industry and is preparing an islandwide promotion campaign supported by the Ministry of Tourism that will cover the entire district of Paphos.
It includes an organised campaign on social media. The programme will also include Google ads, internet and radio contests, articles, and use influencers / bloggers etc.
Paphos expects to continue to be, as always, the first choice for permanent residents of Cyprus for holidays on the island, he said.
“Indications are that there is a lot of desire and intention by residents to visit other areas of Cyprus, and Paphos could be the number one choice for so many,” he said.
Although industry professionals are hopeful that 2021 will be better than 2020, it should be viewed as the beginning of the rebound for the industry.
It will take at least two or three years to reach anything like the previous numbers of visitors to the island, which peaked at around four million, he added.
“We remain positive and ready and are awaiting a possible announcement of the de-escalation of restrictive measures for the start of domestic tourism,” he concluded.
