The perception that Cyprus is an expensive destination is wrong, Cyprus Tourism Organization supported on Thursday. Speaking to StockWatch, CTO Chairman, Panos Egglezos said that such rumours are raised by other competitive countries. “Our hotels and restaurants are cheap enough. Do you know that car rentals in Cyprus are the cheapest in Europe? Unfortunately, our competitors say that we are an expensive country and we believed it”, he said.

Euro

The adoption of the euro will play an important role in the tourism sector. “When tourists start using the euro in Cyprus, they will realize that we are not an expensive country. Therefore, we believe that pricing in euros must be launched the soonest possible”, he noted.

Responding to the question whether Cyprus is an expensive destination given that despite the drop in tourist arrivals last year, the revenues went up, Mr. Egglezos said that the increased revenues were attributable to the longer stay of tourists on the island.

Projects

With reference to the tourist projects, Mr. Egglezos said that the CTO in agreement with the Finance Ministry decided to hasten the procedures for their completion. “The works for the opening of the three golf courts in Geroskipou, Secret Valley and Ha Potami and one golf court in Larnaca will start in the next few weeks. Four more applications are already under review”, he added.

Casino

As for the opening of a casino in Cyprus, the CTO Chairman said that the study that governs the legal framework of operation has reached its final stage. “The CTO itself cannot decide on the opening of a casino on the island. I wonder why certain political parties do not favour the opening of a casino before the completion of the relevant studies”, he noted.

Forecasts

Invited to comment on CTO’s forecasts on tourist arrivals and revenues, Mr. Egglezos said that they expect arrivals to remain at last year’s level and revenues to increase further.