SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLANNING

DEVISING TWO STAGES OF A TOURISM PLAN FORCYPRUS FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This task helps you to understand the processes involved in two stages of formal strategic policy-making or planning for a tourism plan. The two stages are:

1. Analysing a destination’s strengths and weaknesses for tourism development and management.

2. Establishing a small number of strategic policy objectives, and then directly linking each to a small number of practical actions that will deliver against that objective.

THE TASK

You are to assume the role of a member of a team of tourism consultants developing suggestions for a tourism plan that covers the Republic of Cyprus, which is the southern part of the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The plan is for the next ten years.

The task should be considered in relation to the sustainable use of the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural resources of Cyprus.

To develop the plan objectives and actions you are provided with survey information on tourism and its impacts on resources in the Republic of Cyprus.

Your team has to present suggestions for key strategic policy objectives and related practical actions for the tourism plan to a seminar involving staff of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (in reality to the rest of the class).

Working in your group you should:

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1. Identify on the first OHP acetate sheet what you consider to be the key strengths and weaknesses of Cyprus for the island’s tourism development and management.

2. Identify on the second OHP acetate sheet 4 or 5 key strategic objectives for the tourism plan.

3. On the same acetate sheet identify 3 or 4 key practicalactions for each strategic objective.

4. Nominate a spokesperson/s who will present your two acetate sheets and, importantly, will explain and justify why the group selected these specific objectives and related practical actions for the ten-year tourism plan.

Advice on your strategic objectives and practical actions:

1. Your suggestions should build from your analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of tourism resources inthe Republic of Cyprus.

2. They should also be based on how you think tourism ought to be developed in the best interests of Cyprus, notably through looking after its economic, environmental and socio-cultural resources in the long term.

3. They should also reflect the tourist markets you consider Cyprus should target and can successfully attract.

4. Each strategic objective should be linked directly to specific practical actions that will deliver against that objective.

5. Be realistic: the budget of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation is very limited, and it is likely to bedifficult to influence private sector businesses unless they get direct benefits.

SPACE FOR YOUR NOTES

Key strengths for tourism development or management

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Key weaknesses for tourism development or management

Key strategic actions and related practical actions

Objective 1:

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Objective 2:

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Objective 3:

Actions:

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Objective 4:

Actions:*

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Objective 5:

Actions:*

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Prof. Bill BramwellSURVEY INFORMATION ON TOURISM AND ITS IMPACTS ON

RESOURCES IN CYPRUS

Political context

Cyprus lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, and it is the third largest Mediterranean island. Cyprus is divided into the Republic of Cyprus (in the south) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (in the north)

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(see Figure 1). This exercise focuses most on the Republic of Cyprus (the south) as the Cyprus Tourism Organisation has authority only in the south of the island.

In 1974 Turkey took over the north of Cyprus in response to a military coup on the island which was backed by the government of Greece. The island is now divided, with the northern part inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and the southern part by Greek Cypriots, with the two sides separated by United Nations peace-keepers (the divide across the island is shown in Figure 1). The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey.

The Republic of Cyprus became a member of the European Union in 2004. In the period before joining, and since joining, there have been intense negotiations about reunifying the two parts of the island. While the two sides may be getting closer, an agreement has not been reached, and the island remains divided.

Figure 1: The Republic of Cyprus and the divided island

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Resources and tourism

Climate resources. The Republic of Cyprus has a pronounced Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers from May to mid-September, with virtually uninterrupted sunshine and mean daily temperatures of about 29°C. The winters are mild but they can be quite rainy and unsettled. The warm temperatures, combined with many beaches along the southern coast, means that Cyprus attracts large numbers of tourists to the main coastal resorts of Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos and Ayia Napa (Figure 1). The resorts are quite typical mass tourism coastal resorts (Figure 2).

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Figure 2: Resorts on the south coast of the Republic of Cyprus

With future climate warming it is possible that the summer temperatures will be too hot to be comfortable forsome visitors. Some snow falls above 1000 metres in the inland Troodos Mountains (Figure 1), supporting a very small skiing industry, with the season lasting from January to March, but there is not enough snow for substantial ski development.

Natural resources. The Republic of Cyprus has diverse habitats, ranging from a semi-Alpine zone on the Troodos Mountains, to coastal wetlands, and a unique maquis-type vegetation along parts of the coast. The island’s relative isolation means it has a rich flora and fauna with many endemic species. This includes the Cyprus moufflon, a rare wild sheep found only in Cyprus. Green and Loggerhead turtles also breed on a few protected sandy beaches. Many bird species stop in Cyprus during their migration, including the little ringed plover and masked shrike. Pink flamingos crowd the salt lakes at Larnaka and Akrotiri when winter rains refill them with water.

Inland there are the extensive and scenic Troodos Mountains, parts of which are covered with pines, dwarf oaks, cypresses and cedars. The large, dense forests of

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the Troodos provide ready-made shelter from the summer sun. Several nature trails have been established by the Forestry Department in the Troodos Mountains. There is relatively little tourism in the mountains despite their scenic beauty, interesting historic villages and cool temperatures (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Troodos Mountains

While most of the coast of the Republic of Cyprus has been developed for tourism, one part remains undeveloped.That is the Akamas Peninsular in the far west part of theisland (Figure 1 – between Paphos and Cape Arnauti), withwild landscapes and unspoilt scenery. It currently attracts very few tourists.

Heritage and cultural resources. The country has a long history of prehistoric development, followed by successive periods of Classical and Hellenistic Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Frankish, Turkish and British occupation, and now independence. This history has left some rich archaeological and historic sites, attractive villages and interesting cultural traditions. The archaeological sites include Roman gymnasia, palaces and villas, and early Christian basilicas. The archaeological sites are quite well visited, but they arenot a prominent reason for visitors to come to Cyprus, and they are not always well interpreted to visitors. Inthe Troodos Mountains there are numerous little frescoed

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Byzantine churches and some large hilltop monasteries andconvents (Figure 4).

Figure 4: An attractive old church in the Troodos Mountains

There are numerous traditional festivals, many based on religious days or events, including the “name days” of saints that provide occasions for village parties. Villages were the traditional venues for festivals and this continues. Important traditional cultural festivalsinclude the Anthestiria flower festival at Limassol and Pafos, which reflect the floral festivals of past pagan times. Events of much more recent origin include a ten-day International Arts Festival held in Limassol.

Patterns and trends in the tourism industry

Tourist arrivals. Table 1 shows that between 1980 and 1990 tourist arrivals to the Republic of Cyprus rose from353,375 to 1,561,479, and by 1995 their number had increased substantially to 2.1 million. Between 1980 and1990 tourist numbers grew by an average annual growth of 16%, compared to a world average of 4.2%. Growth in tourist numbers was erratic during the 1990s, but it had still grown to around 2.7 million by 2001.

However, tourist numbers then tumbled, falling to about 2.4 million tourists in 2002. Numbers between 2002 and 2008 remained around 2.4 million, but they had fallen very substantially again in 2009 and 2010 to between 2.1 and 2.2 million tourists.

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Table 1: International tourist arrivals, 1980-2010______________________________________________

1980 353,375 2002 2,418,238

1985 813, 607 2005 2,470,0631990 1,561,479 2008 2,403,7501995 2,100,000 2010 2,172,9932000 2,686,205

______________________________________________Source: Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service, 2011

Source markets. The United Kingdom market has traditionally been dominant, usually accounting for over half of all arrivals. However, new source markets have emerged in recent years, in particular Russia. Yet the dominance of a few source markets has not altered greatly. The main source market countries in 2010 are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Arrivals from main source market countries, 2010.___________________________________________United Kingdom 996,040Russia 223,854Germany 139,183Greece 127,661Sweden 109,742Norway 63,342Switzerland 41,738Israel 37,871Netherlands 34,207____________________________________________ Source: Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service, 2011.

Seasonality. The mild winter climate means that the island enjoys a longer tourism season than some other Mediterranean destinations. However, Table 3 shows that it still follows a very seasonal pattern; indeed, the seasonality became even more marked in 2009-10 when tourist arrivals declined markedly. Some resorts, particularly those most reliant on beach tourism rather than cultural attractions, appear almost as “ghost towns”during the winter months, with many hotels closing down.

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Table 3: Seasonal pattern of tourist arrivals, 2010_____________________________________________________

Percentage of tourist arrivalsJan/Feb/Nov/Dec (Winter) 11.7March/April/Sept/Oct (Shoulder) 35.6May/June/July/August (Summer) 52.6_________________________________________________________________

Source: Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service, 2011.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation is promoting Cyprus as aninternational conference centre, but conference tourists have remained fairly constant at about 2% of all tourists.

Package tourists and independent tourists. Many tourists in Cyprus are inclusive or package tour tourists: in July2008 52.8% of tourists arriving in Cyprus in July were oncharter flights, very many of these being on inclusive holidays packaged by tour operators. Yet this proportionwas only 25.9% in March 2008 – that is, outside the main summer season. A few large tour operators remain prominent, and this market often represents low-value tourism because the large tour operators can force down the price of tourist accommodation, and also because package holiday beach tourists tend to be quite low spenders. However, the proportion of all tourists on package holidays has declined significantly over the pastdecade. This reflects a general trend for people to travel independently, making their own bookings for the different parts of their holiday, including their flight.Thus, while the package tour market remains very substantial in Cyprus, this is beginning to change quite significantly. One important factor here has been the commitment by Cyprus to allow budget airlines to fly to Cyprus, which will lower the cost of travel, attract independent travellers, and potentially increase tourist numbers.

Accommodation supply. In 1990 there were 59,271 bed spaces in tourist accommodation, and this grew to 94,539 in 2003. Over the same period the number of tourists arriving in the island did not keep up with the increase

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in bed spaces, and that led to a substantial surplus of tourist accommodation and poor hotel occupancies. That surplus is still a major problem. In addition to the “official” bed spaces – that is, those graded and licensed according to criteria set by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation - there is also a substantial unlicensed sector. The number of unlicensed bed spaces is estimatedto be between 12,000 and 30,000. Without doubt, the Cypriot tourism industry is suffering from an oversupply of accommodation. Not only has this placed downward pressure on prices at a time when the costs of accommodation provision are rising, but it has also played into the hands of tour operators who want lower prices.

A Cyprus Tourism Organisation study suggests that as manyas 1 in 10 tourist beds are below a suitable standard. Most are in individual tourist apartment buildings that sprung up during the 1980s and 1990s when planning controls were lax. They were often indiscriminately given licenses to accommodate tourists by the national government. They often have very poor occupancies, and some have begun to drop out of tourism.

Holiday costs. The relatively low rates of unemployment and fairly strong economy in Cyprus over the last thirty years have meant that wages are relatively high, which means that the hotels are relatively expensive. The costof holidays in Cyprus is also relatively expensive because it is a peripheral Mediterranean summer sun destination. Compared with other Mediterranean destinations, it is relatively distant from its major northern European markets. For example, flight times from London are over 4 hours to Cyprus, compared with 2 hours to Mallorca or 3 hours to Malta. Cyprus has also only relatively recently begun to open up its air transport links to greater competition.

Tourists no longer consider Cyprus to be a cheap destination, and it is vulnerable to competition from other destinations that are cheaper, offer a superior environmental quality, or offer more products and

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activities. There is growing concern that tourism in Cyprus will stagnate and eventually decline unless drastic policies are introduced. Yet the government and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation are considered to have been very slow to implement changes to improve tourism.

Resource issues and the tourism industry

Economic issues. The main sources of employment in Cyprusare now tourism and agriculture. Tourism directly contributes about 10% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and about 30% of its employment. But the actual importance of tourism for the Cypriot economy is greater,because almost all economic sectors support tourism. Some Cypriots argue that tourism is now too dominant, with the national economy depending too much on one vulnerable economic sector.

Tourism also demands a large share of the island’s scarceresources – in particular, prime land, water, power and labour – demand that can only be met at a high cost. Additional reservoirs, water treatment schemes, water desalination plants, and power stations have had to be provided because of tourism – which means that water and power are less scarce, but they are being provided at considerable cost. At the same time, it can be argued that tourism has helped to pay for many infrastructure projects, such as the motorway along the south coast, that have brought benefits to many people.

Environmental issues. Tourist development in Cyprus is strongly concentrated in coastal areas. By the early 1990s virtually all prime sites for beach development hadbeen developed or assigned for future development. The Akamas Peninsula in the far west is the only major coastal area that remains undeveloped while having development potential for coastal tourism. The relatively isolated, wild and beautiful Akamas Peninsula was intended to become a national park, but this now seems much less likely. The EU favours conservation and only limited, small-scale tourism in the Akamas Peninsula, but development pressure is growing. There is

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potential to develop small-scale tourism activities here – such as cycling tourism and farm tourism (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: Unspoilt coast and countryside of the Akamas

The coast of Cyprus has been developed very intensively and in a visually intrusive way by tourism and other industries, which has significantly reduced the quality of the landscape and environment. There is much criticism that the coast has been overdeveloped and the environment there has been degraded, with this also damaging the tourism industry. For example, excessive tourism development in Ayia Napa and other major resorts has driven away female sea turtles that will not now comeashore to lay their eggs. The new tourist accommodation has also put tremendous pressure on inadequate systems ofsolid waste and also sewage disposal, creating considerable problems of environmental pollution. In theresorts, the provision of roads, pavements and open spaces for public use has also often not kept pace with the rate of tourist accommodation development.

Some recent planning controls have been implemented in coastal areas, such as a recent requirement that hotels should not be built within 300 metres of the beach or exceed five storeys in height. But other planning controls have not been developed, or have been applied very inconsistently. Many planning decisions are made locally by local administrators, and especially by local

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mayors, rather than at national level. These local administrators and politicians have sometimes made decisions about development on the coast for local electoral or other reasons, rather than for the best interests of the locality or Cyprus. In the past, there have also been opportunities for those in economically orpolitically powerful positions to get around official plans and policies.

The government of the Republic of Cyprus has announced plans to increase golf tourism, and they want to increasethe number of golf courses from the present three to 14. In order to attract developers to invest in these golf courses, the government will allow the building of 6-700 villas around each golf course. This is controversial asthe golf courses will use up a large amount of very scarewater and they will take up a large area of land on the island. It is also unclear if the golf courses will attract large numbers of golf tourists.

More clearly positively, cultural and historical sites, traditional buildings and villages have been preserved and renovated because of tourism. Traditional arts and crafts have also been revitalised, perhaps the most famous being the tradition of lace production in the Lefkara villages. Pafos is noted for pafitika – white material that is woven with bright, geometric designs andmade into table-mats and bedspreads.

Socio-cultural issues. The concentration of tourism and urban development on the southern coast means there has been only limited investment, development and job creation in the island’s rural interior. Many mountain areas with a primarily agricultural base have seen large-scale depopulation. However, in the Troodos Mountains there has been a limited development of village tourism in restored traditional houses.

It is difficult to determine the extent to which tourism has affected the value systems, moral conduct, social structures and lifestyles in Cypriot society. The islandhas a traditional society - encouraged by 77% of the

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population being Greek Orthodox and 18% being Muslim - and hence the society might be significantly affected by the influx of so many visitors. But it should be remembered that Cyprus has relatively high personal incomes, and it is classified as a high-income country. It is also sometimes argued that many Cypriots have already adopted a western lifestyle, so they are not greatly affected by their encounters with north European tourists. In addition, many young Cypriots go to university and there are numerous Cypriots who have returned from Cypriot communities overseas.

However, at the local level and at particular times, the large influx of tourists has influenced social behaviour and caused antagonism between visitors and local people. Surveys have shown that in Ayia Napa, the island’s resortthat attracts many younger, single visitors, most local people feel that tourism has adversely changed the traditional culture. But even here, most of the local population still feel that the benefits of tourism outweigh the costs. Yet there are also growing anti-development sentiments in all regions of Cyprus.

Political change and tourism

In the past tourists could not cross the “Green Line” – the divide between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkishnorth – except at just one crossing point, and they couldnot stay overnight. Further, the Turkish north is not politically recognised by countries other than Turkey, sointernational flights cannot land there without first landing in Turkey. This meant that in the past very few tourists visited the north.

But since 2004 the controls on moving across the “Green Line” were removed for European Union citizens at a number of border points. This has been a major boost forthe tourism industry in the north of Cyprus, with many tourists arriving in the south and crossing to stay overnight in the north. This is because the north is a very attractive place as it still does not have the problems of overdevelopment of the tourist resorts found

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in the south, there are substantial lengths of coast withlittle tourism development, many rural areas have changedrelatively little over the past 40 years, and costs are significantly lower due to the less developed economy in the north. Some tourists are also attracted by the largenumber of long-established casinos found there, when these are not found in the south.

Many in the south of Cyprus see the rise of tourism in the north as a significant threat, but there may be ways of developing tourism in both the south and the north so that tourism in the two places is mutually helpful.

Prof. Bill Bramwell

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