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Deputy Minister: Sports tourism should be an integral part of Cyprus’ tourist product

22/03/2019 10:40

Deputy Ministry for Tourism will work to render sports tourism an integral part of Cyprus’ tourist product, Deputy Minister Savvas Perdios has said on Thursday, addressing the 3rd Running Forum.
 
“The Deputy Ministry intends to work with the ultimate goal to render sports tourism as an integral part of the country’s tourist product, capable of having multiple added value for our economy,” he said.
 
Perdios said the Ministry promotes the growth of sport tourism through its own actions in collaboration with stake holders and referred to the drafting and implementation of a series of incentives schemes.
 
These schemes, he added, aim at supporting sports events for the winter months, supporting visits by teams, trips abroad to promote Cyprus as a sports tourism destination and the further improvement of infrastructures in cooperation with the public and private sectors.
 
According to data collected by the Ministry, through the incentive’s schemes, Cyprus hosted in 2018 189 teams, corresponding to 4,500 athletes totalling 40,000 overnight stays and an average stay of 8.8 days, while the highest demand was recorded in January, February and March.
 
The estimated economic benefit from sport tourism exceeded €50 million.
 
The promotion of special forms of tourism constitutes a basic component of the National Strategy for Tourism, drafted by the Deputy Ministry, Perdios said, adding the promotion of sports tourism prerequisites the creation of competitive and qualitative tourism services that consolidate our country as an especially attractive destination in even increasing competitive environment.
 
Concurrently, he concluded, “in making Cyprus a destination for sports we should introduce sports in our life and our culture.”