“The theme of this year’s World Tourism Day, ‘Tourism & Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development,’ showcases tourism’s starring role in the effort for a brighter energy future; a future in which the world’s entire population has access to modern, efficient and affordable energy services.
One of the world’s largest economic sectors, tourism is especially well-placed to promote environmental sustainability, green growth and our struggle against climate change through its relationship with energy. As the World Tourism Organization stated in its inauguration of the Day: “tourism is leading the way in some of the world’s most innovative sustainable energy initiatives. Energy efficient upgrades to aircraft, the shift to renewable fuel for aviation and cruise liners, energy technology solutions in hotels, as well as countless other initiatives are placing tourism at the forefront of the clean energy transformation.”
The Cyprus Hotel Association participates in a series of actions aimed at the sustainable development of tourist businesses, and at reducing energy consumption, operating costs and CO2 emissions in tourist accommodations. It recently organized two events as part of the European Project LIFE+CARBONTOUR, in which it participates as a partner alongside the National Metsovio Polytechnic and other institutions, titled ‘Strategic Planning towards Carbon Neutrality in Tourist Accommodations.’ The programme aims to determine energy consumption in tourist accommodations per activity, as well as the corresponding CO2 emissions, through the use of appropriate software.
The theme of this year’s World Tourism Day provides our country’s tourism industry with an excellent opportunity for a timely investigation to highlight the prospects created from the recent discovery of natural gas deposits in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone. These prospects are fully intertwined with tourism, as the utilization of the deposits will contribute to the reduction of energy costs which make up an important part of the total costs of our tourism industry. This will result in travel packages becoming more attractive and competitive. Moreover, the exploitation of natural gas deposits will attract the interest of foreign investors, thus helping to revive the housing market and the development of business tourism.
Tourist arrivals in Cyprus during this year’s summer period recorded positive levels, whilst the occupancy levels of most hotels were deemed satisfactory. However, this small upward trend should in no way lead to complacency. The challenges the tourism industry is currently facing are numerous, and competition is becoming increasingly fierce. In order for a real recovery in Cyprus tourism to materialise, there needs to be a systematic study of the new trends, collective effort, and a mobilization towards the right directions in order to anticipate developments and, as a state, gain as many benefits as we can. This is of special importance now, when other key sectors of the economy have suffered a major blow as a result of the impact of the global financial crisis, while tourism has demonstrated its capabilities and its durability.”
This year marks 33 years since the establishment of World Tourism Day. The main objective of the Day, which is celebrated every year on the 27th September, is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The Spanish town of Maspalomas will host this year’s celebrations, which will include a high-level Think Tank which will discuss this year’s theme, ‘Tourism & Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development.’
