CYPRUS: US Funded Workshops Launched To Support Food Production

US funded workshops launched to support food production are a series of free workshops aiming to support small and medium enterprises in the area of food production, funded largely by the US State Department, was launched on 3rd of February 2017 in Akaki, Nicosia.

The two-day workshops will deal with matters such as product quality and certification, safety and health processes, entrepreneurial development, networking, marketing, branding and funding, and are taking place from January 27 until March 18 in the villages of Anogyra, Akaki, Galata, Athienou, Kyperounda, Neapolis University in Paphos, the Cyprus University of Technology in Limassol, and Odou village, and are open to the public.

The workshops are organised by the Cyprus Food and Nutrition Museum. Interested parties can access the workshops’ programme here.

This is the first time a Cypriot team has ever been among the winners of the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund, a State Department programme that gives money created by alumni of our exchange programmes, US Ambassador to Nicosia Kathleen Doherty said, congratulating Chrystalleni Lazarou, head of the Board of the Cyprus Food Museum, and her team for their victory.

“The submissions come in from around the world and the competition – as it often is in the United States – is fierce since only a small number of the projects can win,” she noted, pointing out that last year 829 proposals were submitted from 137 countries.

Doherty also spoke of the support the US has given Cyprus, noting that “over the last four decades the US government has spent more than 500 million dollars here to provide educational opportunities, to strengthen bi-communal ties and to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the private sector.

“At the same time more than 2,500 Cypriots have travelled to the US to study at American colleges and universities through the CASP and Fulbright programmes,” she said. “Over 4,000”, she added, have gone on shorter but still valuable exchange programmes.”

Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Nicos Kouyialis make a particular reference to the certification of Cypriot products in the EU. The government, he said, encourages the certification of Cypriot products as Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) of the EU.

“We feel that in doing so we create the conditions for real rural development because we support SMEs, we create new jobs and we improve the standard of living in our rural areas,” he pointed out.

He added that in the commercial treaties signed by the EU with third countries Cyprus calls for PGIs to be recognised. Addressing the US Ambassador, he expressed the hope that this will be the case in the treaty to be signed with the US.

Kouyialis also assured that the growth of entrepreneurship and the promotion of Cyprus’ quality local products are a priority for the Ministry and the government in general.

Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) Senior Director Leonidas Paschalides congratulated the Cyprus Food Museum for its initiative and said that “continuous training and lifelong learning together with innovation and an emphasis on quality are the main ingredients of entrepreneurial success and are concepts which SMEs must embrace from an early stage in their effort to survive and to grow in a constantly changing business environment, whether technologically or otherwise.”

Empowering Cypriot Small Scale Food producers – program:

27-28.1.2017 – Anogyra
3-4.2.2017 – Akaki
10-11.2.2017 – Galata
17-18.2.2017 – Athienou
24-25.2.2017 – Kyperounda
3-4.3.2017 – Neapolis University in Paphos
10-11.3.2017 – Cyprus University of Technology in Limassol
17-18.3.2017 – Odou.

CYPRUS: Cyprus Tourism Market

The tourism market is one of the largest economic sectors in Cyprus and has experienced substantial growth over the last five years, with tourists averaging around 2,315 million per year.

Cyprus’ tourism industry has been honoured with numerous prestigious awards, spanning the sustainable Destinations Global Top 100, an initiative of TravelMole.com, VISION on Sustainable Tourism, Totem Tourism and Green Destination titles bestowed to Limassol and Paphos in December 2014. Cyprus’ famous beaches have been awarded with 53 Blue Flags achieving three records:

• the most Blue Flags per capita in the world

• the most dense concentration of Blue Flag beaches

• the most Blue Flag beaches per coastline.

Overview of the tourism market in Cyprus

Key tourist areas in Cyprus
Cyprus has five main tourist districts, namely, Famagusta, Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca and Nicosia. Each district offers a wide range of tourist products, attracting different types of tourists.

The Famagusta region consists of Ayia Napa, the south east coast of Cyprus and Protaras, the coastal area of Paralimni. It has a wider range of beaches than other cities. Ayia Napa is a reputable party town and prime site for nightlife.

Paphos is a popular coastal town in the southwest of Cyprus. Visitors can enjoy spectacular scenery and some of Cyprus’ finest beaches. Paphos offers ancient historical sites, some classified as world heritage sites by Unesco and an attractive harbour. It is expected that Paphos will be subject to intensified cultural activity, as it has been selected by the EU to be a European Capital of Culture for 2017.

Limassol is the second largest city in Cyprus and is situated on the southern coast of the island. It has developed significantly in recent years, emerging as a business hub. Limassol has the largest port in Cyprus while the existence of marinas assists them to attract high wealth tourists.

Larnaca is the third largest city in Cyprus, and is known for its palm-tree seafront. It is home to the country’s primary airport, a seaport and a marina.

Nicosia, is the capital of Cyprus and the main commercial and business centre, with a world famous archaeological museum, the Venetian walls, and Laiki Yitonia which is a labyrinth of traditional streets.

Seasonality
Promotion of tourism in Cyprus has focused primarily on the concept of ‘sun and sea’. This creates a seasonality to tourism which means there is an uneven spread of tourism inflow over the year. The peak season for tourist arrivals in Cyprus is the six month period from May to October. Cyprus has been known as a summer destination and attracting tourists during the winter months remains a challenge.

The government, in an attempt to reduce the tourism seasonality effect, aims to extend the tourism season by two months to cover the shoulder months of December and March. Given that golf resorts have different seasonality patterns since they are preferred in winter, the government announced an incentive scheme aiming at accelerating the construction of golf courses and allowed the development/conversion of ‘Condo Hotels’.

In addition, the luxurious integrated casino resort that will be completed in the near future, following the adoption of a law governing the operation of a casino by the House of Representatives in July, will certainly attract quality tourism, as well as reduce the seasonality effect.

Accommodation
Accommodation in Cyprus consists of the following categories, namely, hotels, hotel apartments, tourist villages, traditional buildings/houses (agrotourism) and other types which include camping sites, guesthouses, organised apartments, and tourist villas.

There were a total of 802 accommodation units in Cyprus as at 30th of June 2015, with an overall bed capacity of 86.110.