Costas Catsellis and Meeta Tailor, sales and marketing officers from Cyprus deputy ministry of tourism, spoke exclusively to Travel Bulletin at the YouTravel 15th anniversary roadshow.
As summer begins and guests turn to family-favourite Cyprus for a sunny escape, two representatives from Cyprus' deputy ministry of tourism took to YouTravel's 15th anniversary roadshow to inspire confidence for the year ahead and position Cyprus as a year-round favourite.
Where are you looking to position Cyprus as a destination?
Costas Catsellis: "We're trying to push Cyprus beyond a beach destination. We would like to highlight the mountainous region, nature walks and all the activities that visitors can enjoy. For the first time last year, seven villages hosted Christmas markets in Cyprus, which was a great success. Cyprus looks forward to hosting many more Christmas markets in the future.
Meeta Tailor: "The deputy ministry of tourism has designed a route that travels through Cyprus? heartland areas. The route brings visitors close to Cypriot nature and gives you the opportunity to familiarize with local traditions and to experience the Cypriot way of life. The route is called "Heartland of Legends" and consists of a main route, which passes through rural, mountainous, and remote areas, and of several smaller thematic routes, which start or end along the main route. Visitors will be able to choose from a variety of standalone experiences (day trips) or do many stops with similar themes. The route includes not only a variety of attractions and places of natural beauty, but also accommodation establishments, restaurants, small businesses, communities, and other places that offer different and alternative experiences."
For more information, visit: Heartland of Legends | Cyprus is the island of Legends & Stories
Costas Catsellis: "Our main focus is to promote Cyprus as an all-year round destination."
What are people looking for from their destinations post-Covid?
Meeta Tailor: "We feel, travellers are now looking for the opportunity to really have experiences from the places they visit. Travellers are focusing on giving back to local communities, making consumers more aware of sustainability ? seeing the positive impact tourism can have to the local villages plus also an opportunity to have human connection and really get to get to know the locals and their traditions."
How does it feel to be back on the road? How important is engaging with agents?
Costas Catsellis: "We're very eager to start doing things again, because we've not met anybody for so long - it's been a lot of Zoom meetings, but it's not the same. We're planning events all through the year, like exhibitions and events."
Meeta Tailor: "We're looking to do some fam trips, anything that helps us engage with the agents. We're trying to get a good understanding what guests are looking for when they come to visit Cyprus. Do they want activities? Do they want to engage with the culture, see the history? Knowing this helps us a lot."
