Cyprus-Forum.com

by **Milo** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 6:24 pm

Tourists find Cypriot infrastructure unsatisfactory
By Sebastian Heller)

VISITORS TO Cyprus have singled out the island’s infrastructure as the worst defining aspect of their stay, according to a survey presented yesterday by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO).

“As a society, as a political system, we seem to lack the will to improve the infrastructure and services provided.” said Panos Pasiardes the Director of the Centre for Economic Research (CER), which carried out the study.

Parking, pavements, cycle tracks and public toilets are all instances of the sort of infrastructure which the CTO says is missing from the Cyprus state, needs improvement, or is in a bad state of cleanliness or repair.

Further, “value for money of nearly all the components of the tourist product appears to be unsatisfactory.”

Nevertheless, 55 per cent of visitors to Cyprus reported that, overall, they were satisfied with their stay, while 40 per cent said they were very satisfied, with a minority being unsatisfied overall.

Tourists were more likely to return to the island if: they visited in the first half of the year; they stayed in a 5 star hotel; they stayed in the countryside or the mountains; they were over 60 years old.

Tourists reported the highest rate of satisfaction with the countryside, Polis Chrysochou and Larnaca.

“The problems won’t be solved by themselves but require a period of continued investment in a quality tourist product.” noted Pasiardes. He said that the Cyprus tourist product has essentially stayed the same for years and, thus, has fallen behind competitors.

Concerning the slump the tourism sector in recent years Pasiardes said: “I would say the [economic] crisis will pass for those who make the effort to improve. For those who stay the same, the crisis will never pass.”

A breakdown of the survey results showed that Greeks and Russians were the most satisfied with their holidays on the island and less concerned with the cost-to-value aspect than those from other countries, while Greek and Irish visitors were most happy with restaurant prices,

British tourists, the sector’s mainstay, were also satisfied but less so than in previous years and their main complaints centered on lack of public transportation.

Overall, less educated visitors were more likely to express their satisfaction although it appears that package tourists were less happy than those who chose tailor-made holidays.

Tourists with children were generally happier than those who travelled without children, except when it came to the cost of taxis and restaurants. The areas that left the best impression were Protaras/Paralimni and Larnaca, with many tourists complaining that Paphos and Polis were expensive.

The CTO is currently focusing on ways to attract Germans and Scandinavians to Cyprus in larger numbers once more. The other market they are currently examining is the French holidaymakers’ market.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

by **cymart** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 6:30 pm

Those figures refer to passengers on flights arriving in Cyprus and not all of them are tourists staying in hotels etc.They include Cypriots returning as well!

by **yialousa1971** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:34 pm

Make sure Lana can cook.

by AQ » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:53 pm

OMG

Forget the French. They do not travel.

God forbid the Germans come to Cyprus.

The Brits are the market.

Problems:

Money grabbing and reckless taxi Drivers.

First impressions awful.

Surly service.

Rip off prices.

Opinion:

Going bust.

Milo wrote:Tourists find Cypriot infrastructure unsatisfactory
By Sebastian Heller)

VISITORS TO Cyprus have singled out the island’s infrastructure as the worst defining aspect of their stay, according to a survey presented yesterday by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO).

“As a society, as a political system, we seem to lack the will to improve the infrastructure and services provided.” said Panos Pasiardes the Director of the Centre for Economic Research (CER), which carried out the study.

Parking, pavements, cycle tracks and public toilets are all instances of the sort of infrastructure which the CTO says is missing from the Cyprus state, needs improvement, or is in a bad state of cleanliness or repair.

Further, “value for money of nearly all the components of the tourist product appears to be unsatisfactory.”

Nevertheless, 55 per cent of visitors to Cyprus reported that, overall, they were satisfied with their stay, while 40 per cent said they were very satisfied, with a minority being unsatisfied overall.

Tourists were more likely to return to the island if: they visited in the first half of the year; they stayed in a 5 star hotel; they stayed in the countryside or the mountains; they were over 60 years old.

Tourists reported the highest rate of satisfaction with the countryside, Polis Chrysochou and Larnaca.

“The problems won’t be solved by themselves but require a period of continued investment in a quality tourist product.” noted Pasiardes. He said that the Cyprus tourist product has essentially stayed the same for years and, thus, has fallen behind competitors.

Concerning the slump the tourism sector in recent years Pasiardes said: “I would say the [economic] crisis will pass for those who make the effort to improve. For those who stay the same, the crisis will never pass.”

A breakdown of the survey results showed that Greeks and Russians were the most satisfied with their holidays on the island and less concerned with the cost-to-value aspect than those from other countries, while Greek and Irish visitors were most happy with restaurant prices,

British tourists, the sector’s mainstay, were also satisfied but less so than in previous years and their main complaints centered on lack of public transportation.

Overall, less educated visitors were more likely to express their satisfaction although it appears that package tourists were less happy than those who chose tailor-made holidays.

Tourists with children were generally happier than those who travelled without children, except when it came to the cost of taxis and restaurants. The areas that left the best impression were Protaras/Paralimni and Larnaca, with many tourists complaining that Paphos and Polis were expensive.

The CTO is currently focusing on ways to attract Germans and Scandinavians to Cyprus in larger numbers once more. The other market they are currently examining is the French holidaymakers’ market.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

by **yialousa1971** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:58 pm

AQ wrote:OMG

Forget the French. They do not travel.

God forbid the Germans come to Cyprus.

The Brits are the market.

Problems:

Money grabbing and reckless taxi Drivers.

First impressions awful.

Surly service.

Rip off prices.

Opinion:

Going bust.

Milo wrote:Tourists find Cypriot infrastructure unsatisfactory
By Sebastian Heller)

VISITORS TO Cyprus have singled out the island’s infrastructure as the worst defining aspect of their stay, according to a survey presented yesterday by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO).

“As a society, as a political system, we seem to lack the will to improve the infrastructure and services provided.” said Panos Pasiardes the Director of the Centre for Economic Research (CER), which carried out the study.

Parking, pavements, cycle tracks and public toilets are all instances of the sort of infrastructure which the CTO says is missing from the Cyprus state, needs improvement, or is in a bad state of cleanliness or repair.

Further, “value for money of nearly all the components of the tourist product appears to be unsatisfactory.”

Nevertheless, 55 per cent of visitors to Cyprus reported that, overall, they were satisfied with their stay, while 40 per cent said they were very satisfied, with a minority being unsatisfied overall.

Tourists were more likely to return to the island if: they visited in the first half of the year; they stayed in a 5 star hotel; they stayed in the countryside or the mountains; they were over 60 years old.

Tourists reported the highest rate of satisfaction with the countryside, Polis Chrysochou and Larnaca.

“The problems won’t be solved by themselves but require a period of continued investment in a quality tourist product.” noted Pasiardes. He said that the Cyprus tourist product has essentially stayed the same for years and, thus, has fallen behind competitors.

Concerning the slump the tourism sector in recent years Pasiardes said: “I would say the [economic] crisis will pass for those who make the effort to improve. For those who stay the same, the crisis will never pass.”

A breakdown of the survey results showed that Greeks and Russians were the most satisfied with their holidays on the island and less concerned with the cost-to-value aspect than those from other countries, while Greek and Irish visitors were most happy with restaurant prices,

British tourists, the sector’s mainstay, were also satisfied but less so than in previous years and their main complaints centered on lack of public transportation.

Overall, less educated visitors were more likely to express their satisfaction although it appears that package tourists were less happy than those who chose tailor-made holidays.

Tourists with children were generally happier than those who travelled without children, except when it came to the cost of taxis and restaurants. The areas that left the best impression were Protaras/Paralimni and Larnaca, with many tourists complaining that Paphos and Polis were expensive.

The CTO is currently focusing on ways to attract Germans and Scandinavians to Cyprus in larger numbers once more. The other market they are currently examining is the French holidaymakers’ market.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009