A chance to celebrate collective progress and reinforce interdependent relationships
It's that time of the year where industries look towards their highlights and eventually meeting to decide about the most performing staff member, organization, leader or contributing event - but what do these these “awards” signify as part of the year end ceremonies?
An example that got me thinking was the recent, Pasydixe Personality award for Cyprus Tourism, awarded by the Cyprus Hotel Managers Association annual assembly.
In the context of recognizing a person's lifetime achievement, it's an excellent opportunity to discover an individual's sustained efforts in favor of a particular industry. Yet it's too well known that in an industry made of interdependent relationships, I am left with the question in how highlighting the role of a single person's achievements, a measure of how everyone else is doing in the industry? It is simply not saying anything about the industry as such.
Without undermining the value of current awards, as such, I miss see the sense of perpetuating a model of awards that is artificially limited to a few 'winners' and which potentially reinforces seeing others as competitors or obstacles to one's success. Would it not be make sense that to see awards really motivating individuals and organizations to develop their unique talents and interests and be recognized for it?
While looking at the national tourism sector as a whole, in an industry that should be promoting relationships of interdependence and not disrupting them, I feel there is room for promoting organizations and persons that have taken different risks and risen above their particular challenges. A chance to celebrate each particular successes as an interpretation of multiples collective achievements for the whole industry.
This is at least an aspiration we look for as we examine the possibility of resuscitating the Lychnos Travel Awards, which as the name indicates, highlights those companies and initiatives that best present the potential for driving change and gaining from the emerging dynamics. These were conceived as a way to reward the process of arriving at a particular industry worthy accomplishment rather than the magnitude of the particular accomplishments themselves.
What's your take, what awards will you be aspiring for this year?
We live in critical times, looking ahead.
Let's not be mistaken, our obsession is also with the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, because it has been sitting in the middle of tourism development for too long, but that's a story for a different post.
Let me not distract you from the point at hand, understanding the importance of recent developments in our sector and therefore our economy. From the picture above. Forrester Research makes a graphical representation on how to understand and interpret the ages as they have developed in different economic times where companies have been succeeding themselves or renovating themselves to play an important role accordingly.
Last week we highlighted in various articles the importance of the Hermes Airports contributions and what I do wish to highlight here, is not the tremendous efforts and investments which are praiseworthy, but it's having resolved the single most important impediment for our industry to have been able to move ahead. Hermes Airports strategically placed their efforts for the last year in resolving 1 single most problem - that of distribution, according to this new understanding about customers.
As we look forward with the realization that 2003-2010 plans have completely overlooked resolving a key challenge dating back to previous era, how can we be so confident that the current service model that has been used for the last 30 years, has actually resolved the challenges of an Age past, that of connectivity and information flow, and let alone being prepared for the challenges that are coming ahead.
With this issue in mind, the strategic tourism plan made out by the Cyprus Tourism Organization for the next 5 years, should the tourism sector not join in and help out, just as Hermes Airports is doing so that we are not stuck with challenges Ages goneby.
It's a new age where carrot (cto budget) and stick (political parties) reminds us that this not what will help us to connect with customers, who are those that will ensure we move forward in the business of tourism. And you why are you in the business of Tourism. How are you going to connect?
Video Credit: Short version of Jessie J -Price Tag - expressing adequately as to why sometimes we do the tings we do despite contrary logic.
Hermes thankful for the successful implementation and management of Cyprus National Airports
The new airports have heralded a return to
tourism growth for Cyprus and with the focused action of Hermes Airport, Cyprus Tourism is seeing a growth of arrivals due to new airlines unlike any period in the 30 years of Cyprus Tourism. The opening of
new source markets for tourism in western, eastern, and central Europe,
Scandinavia, Russia, and the Middle East has resulted in a Traffic in 2010 increased by 3.2% and
has grown by over 5% in the current year, and so despite lack luster performance of national carriers.
The strategy of commercial incentives combined with additional support from the
stakeholders is allowing for longer term commitments, unlike previous negotiation led by Cyprus Tourism Organisation which resulted in too much seasonality, uncertainty from year to year and too much dependency by large scale tour operators that eroded operational margins of the tourism trade.
It's undeniable that the increased tourism to Cyprus will gain greater weight from the winter and off season travel, due to the more frequent introduction of new routes by cost carriers such as EasyJet, Wizzair,and Ryanair.
In the words of Hermes Airports CEO, Mr. Alfred Van der Meer during a conference honoring the 5 years of successful development, "The new Larnaka and Pafos international airports are perhaps the best example Cyprus has of the value and benefits to be derived from public private partnerships". Surely in the case of Cyprus Tourism, this is an exception that confirms the rule.
In mutually beneficial complicity, Tourism authorities rush for refuge behind infrastructural developments to divert attention from the negligent management of national tourism assets in Cyprus
During the annual conference of travel agents in Cyprus (ACTA), Mr. Paschalides, minister of commerce, industry and tourism, urged the tourism trade to focus on building the winter season. In continued efforts to undermine deficiencies in the service based industry, Mr Paschalides pointed towards the numerous works as, accomplishments, which will further improve the tourist infrastructure. Among developments outlined he pointed to the refurbishment of the International Conference Centre, ongoing works at the Limassol Marina and new golf courses planned in Larnaka and Pafos.
What it is for sure, is that nobody may have informed him about the Tourism and travel competitiveness report published earlier this year by the World Economic Forum, where Cyprus without further infrastructural investments, was already leading world tourism industry with outstanding performances in its tourism infrastructure.
On the another hand, Cyprus Tourism Organization head also reassured the travel agents stakeholders, that the new design of strategy plan 2011-2015 was well underway of being implemented.
By the looks of 155 page report, especially with the personalised template design, it will not be getting high marks for an inspiring marketing read. If we are to judge by this organisational planning document that is to lead the Cyprus Tourism Organisation into next decade, one is bound to be more skeptical about the expectations building up for the next 5 years.
With these developments and despite the calls for unity and collaboration, it isn't surprising that the observations of Mr. Mantovani, president of the travel agent association, resonate more than ever when highlighting public interference of national air carriers, as examples of improvisation by Tourism Authorities.
In contrast to the opinion of Mr. Paschalides, I believe that Tourism stakeholders do have a choice, in how they will unite and collaborate.
One thing for sure and a good start is get back to earth and put our heads together, because it is evident, from past track record, that neither Mr. Paschalides nor Cyprus Tourism authorities seem to be able deliver upon expectations.
In Limassol, Natural assets have more value. For the Dasoudi, Citizen action for urban conservation.
This is part of the story of the Dasoudi (smaill woodland) and reclaiming it for Limassol and to ordinary citizens.
This was the central message of the event held at noon on saturday 28th of May in Limassol. It is intended to prevent and plans to build new two-storey building facilities and parking on the site of the most unique natural landmark in the city of limassol. A request for collaboration is facilitated by the links provided at the footer of this post.
This event gave them the hundreds of Limassol, ordinary citizens of all ages. Young and old, who sought to convert Dasoudi at a popular beach and not tsimentothei. Attending the event were MPs from all parties, as well as interest rate environment commissioner to raise their voice for a more pragmatic defense of the environment and increased participation for effective change.
Speaking to attendees, the Environment Commissioner explained the rights given by the EU citizens on environmental issues and urged them to continue this fight, stating their opposition to any projects to be planned.
The aims of the citizen movement in Limassol, an independent and spontaneous group of citizens, which requires a peaceful manner:
-The protection of green space in Dasoudi
-The assurance of public space and utilities
-The promotion and implementation of open, democratic and transparent procedures for public consultation with respect to our environmental and social rights.
We call on the tourism sector to help restore common sense in public policy making and change the natural tendency of the Cyprus Tourism authorities to systematically ignore the value of preserving our natural assets.
Read More:
Sign the petition - Join the Dasoudi Group
http://www.facebook.com/Cyprus.Nature
What do finances, natural assets and flying elephants have in common?
HOPE! The age old tradition of Anthestiria is an inherited custom of celebrating spring. It is a quite singular form of valuing the natural assets which possesses the Island of Cyprus and a unique way of exhibiting cultural heritage.
This appreciation however and much like other popular festivals are testimonial of an ever growing gap between the needs, wants and musts of a modern society that consumes culture and attracts tourism. Granted the importance of both cultural and natural assets as evidenced by tourism and travel competitiveness reports, these come with a widely known and reported evidence of a comfortable neglect.
The comfortable neglect is first evidenced by a continued tolerance by authorities of illegal practices that negatively affect the environment and a systemic failure of certain tourism authorities in meeting strategic targets established since 2003 in adequately enforcing policies in favor of a sustainable approach to tourism and developing guiding principles of how to fully exploit singularities of a destination begging for differentiation and competitiveness.
Long before the Jonathan Franzen article, emptying the skies in the New York Magazine, it was evident that a growing negative press was already established and associated with certain culinary practices and tolerance of lawlessness.
Today, not only have efforts by Birdlife association, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) and a dedicated list of activists enabled that the practice of killing song birds for a snack reach mainstream and consolidate a permanent visibility for Cyprus through different online media outlets such as the Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The New Yorker, Huffington Post, Sunday Mirror, CBS internative network, Discovery channel among others.
Despite this media context and growing disenchantment, civil society has yet to support the total ban of a ruinous practice that reverses the negative trend established. With elections coming up and media channels awaiting, are you hopeful for a timely citizen call to action?
Photo Credit: Annual Charity event by the Bank of Cyprus for anticancer society
The development of Entrepreneurs requires leaders with qualities unseen or not considered as important in the past.
The world cries out for a new type of leadership, not just as we face global concerns and unresolved geopolitical matters, but in a leadership that capture different abilities and values that will be required to open new perspectives.
In a recent article published by about Cyprus entrepreneurship and the challenge for current establishment, it is made evident that if entreprises, administrations, associations and civil society are to guide upcoming generations, current skill sets will need to reinforce new habits and new ways of connecting with success.
What would these abilities look like? To much surprise, these may be age old capabilities but have been until now limited to the sphere of the Arts and Culture - Creativity embodies these and more items
- True Openess
- Ability to question and ask questions
- Making new connections, new combinations and relationships
- Ability to risk and experiment
- Tolerance to ambiguity and diversity
- Working outside the comfort zone
Centered as capabilities that may actually 'rock your traditional boat', these are not only requisites for personal development, but are factors that should help with rethinking of our own cultural and societal biases. The how and the who behind the role in development of these skills, start with from early to higher education and in the workplace, wherever that may be.
This is a challenge bigger than anyone can think. It means moving away from the comfort of predictability, embracing variation, and building capacity to function well outside one's comfort zone to generate new ideas, solutions to the challenges that will flourish as a result of the post-crisis.
Remembering 183rd anniversary of the birth of Jules Verne - think extraordinary.
Inspired by
Dr. Ali Dastmalchian is dean of the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria.
The Victoria Times Colonist
Entrepreneurs will need new outlook and Google Inc.
Time consistently brings back life to the island in Winter and Spring
Green in Cyprus is a word that does not carry a very positive associative meaning, contrary to cultural hearsay. To Cypriots, the ' Green Line' carries much emotional distress, to what it seems a perpetual separation between communities, but fortunately it is a division which nature seems to often ignore.
Aside from the drama in Cypriot society, with the passage of time, winter and spring do consistently bring back the green and life to this blessed island of the eastern Mediterranean.
We all recognize that ecology in Cyprus is not a an emergent concept, judging by high penetration of solar heaters, but environmental practice in terms of renewable energy, sustainability, recycling, development and biodiversity loss prevention, may have longer strides before reaching 2020 objectives as set by different international Conventions.
We get to discover where the soul of Cyprus still live - the green countryside brings to life the authentic traditional making it accessible for satisfying travel experiences to a 1st world economy. From the Wines making villages of Limassol, to the Olive oil and the traditional Carob plantations, the eastern Mediterranean Charm has lots of seduction going for it, both for excellent vistas but also from an informative view point of how traditional customs are passed on or adapted to modern use.
The account describes highlights of the Visit with special appreciation for:
- Mountain Villages of Anogyra
- Museum of Olive Oil, by Oleastro
- Village of Mavros Chrysos Carob Factory Museum
- Wine Routes of Cyprus
- Taste of Cypriot hospitality
- A glorious meal at Cypriot Tavern
- The tastes of the wild Cyprus
- Troodos Sustainable tourism
If you get a chance, to read on more about the visit with detail at:
Green traveler guides and eco-friendly Cyprus Greening of Cyprus
International Day of Peace is on Sept. 21. It can be testimonial to the fight against territorial abandonment and the symbols of weaknesses of a generation in Cyprus
A cracked landing strip, a ghost city, broken churches, a divided people; abandonment has long stood as a stark symbol of war-divided Cyprus and cultural action is determined to change that. In a symbolic event and courageous gesture, the Cyprus Peace Concert was held just outside of the once admired Lefkosia airport, now located within the UN- controlled buffer zone and at the heart of the separation of an orphan territory in Cyprus.
The conductor of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, Yiannis Hadjiloizou, led the first event to show, "how culture, music, arts in general can bring people together."
The 50-strong orchestra comprised dozens of nationalities, including 15 Greek Cypriots and one Turkish Cypriot, and played the works of Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Brahms to mark International Peace Day, which falls on September 21.
The young conductor was delighted with the idea that his music was wafting over the Turkish ceasefire line, just a few hundred metres from the airport, reminding us all that "War is not between people," and no sad reminders could spoil, what could have very well been, a first onward looking soirée, lived by audience of UN officials, diplomats, and Cypriots from both sides of the island, on the tarmac in front of the terminal building's ghostly facade.
The Cypriot conductor Hadjiloizou comes from a family of musicians and has no time for the partisan politics that have perpetuated the so-called Cyprus problem.
"In this part of the world political views are very strong... We have to compromise," he said. "The house of my mother is in the (Turkish-held) north. Imagine, you go there and it's occupied by some Turkish Cypriot. What can you do? Another war?"
Hadjiloizou believes cultural activities are the best way to help people forget the "no" vote in the 2004 referendum -- when Greek Cypriots rejected the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's reunification blueprint, shortly before Cyprus joined the European Union.
"You cannot change the past," Hadjiloizou said. "But you can prepare the future."
There remains the challenge for organizations, the untypical task of cultivating relations and warming up hearts the world over in some 30 languages. Surely we recognize that emotions and gaining the favor of millions of hearts, is at the core of the wishful strategies of Tourism development plans.
Nevertheless, in marketing and communication terms, we've seen only too many responding to this challenge by bombarding untimely messages across emerging communication channels. It is true that you may strike a chord sometimes, but it's useless to pretend that you can aim to remain relevant all the time, without showing some concern on how your messages impact people in general, especially when these messages are expressly meant to be generic.
A few days ago, I was confronted by a marketing officer that was justifying herself, explaining to me that because the communication was generic - that is, it was meant for all people in general, her message could not be personalized in any way.
I can understand the comfort for which some marketing planners welcome today how Outdoor, Print and TV advertising actually appear to be less invasive and less prone to backfire compared with the virulence of online rejection.
The communication barrier imposed by traditional media is definitely a comfort zone from which it is easy to be agressively throwing out messages to the masses. You may be forgiven part of the time for it, but let's not pretend, that with this mechanical way of internal planning for communication, that we are going to get any closer to anyone's heart with credibility or authenticity.
Photo Credit: www.extremecyprus.net
Marine and nautical sport enthusiasts will be happy to hear about new docking facilities in Lemesos Cyprus.
The new marine infrastructure in Cyprus will be in service from 2012 and plans presented by the joint venture leading the project, aims to see its completion in due time to service luxury market. The complex which mixes residential and commercial services is projected around 586 berths, with apartments and exclusive facilities, some of which will have private moorings.
The nautical Marina for Lemesos will add to existing enhancements of Nautical Facilities for Cyprus in the regions of Ayia Napa, Pafos and the Larnaka Marina, thus fulfilling a long awaited strategical commitment to developing services in the yachting market by the Tourism authorities.
A realistic Glafkos Kariolou, a recognised marine expert in tourism, explained that since 1994, Cyprus could have been developing services to an underserved market of 6.5 million crafts in the Mediterranean and it was high time that priorities in this area of tourism should be implemented.
Cyprus, with the perspective of playing catch up in a market, arrives with some good vantage points but will have to especially care for the type of customers it will want to cater to. Although the market still allows for being selective, there still lies an important question that remains unanswered today and that is how the relationship with an elite market will develop.
At this time into the season its pointless to reinforce the evident culprits of the economic downturn in tourism.
1. Single market dependency,
2. Outdated tourism acquisition model and
3. Lack of leadership
Equally downgrading is the current finger pointing by authorities, associations and business organizations, because at one level or another everybody is responsible. We will not at this point mention the way the inefficiencies of politics in tourism, but we want to pin point how an exercise of introspection would be good for everyone prior to expressing their frustrations.
As it is general that tourism destinations are struggling, what is needed today is an exercise of leadership that can rise to the challenge. The current situation has demonstrated that we have incumbent actors who have been incapable of producing and establishing a basis for sustainable model for tourism in Cyprus.
I believe it would be sensible to demand at this time, to have an executive hand that can and will make way for a new leadership to reverse the tide and so that as professionals we may be able to again prioritize Hospitality and all its opportunities.
To show-off wealth? To be ostentatious or not?
Budget consciousness may affect some purchasing patterns but the real challenge for luxury today lies more than ever in the essence of the product/service/experience you are proposing as value. Value never gets downgraded if it remains true to its essence.
Fashion designers are not the only luxury vendors who believe discounting is dangerous. "I am very against cutting prices," said panelist Javier Vivas, general manager of The Box, a burlesque club and dinner theater on New York's Lower East Side, where customers regularly pay more than $1,000 per table for bottle service. The Box is owned by Simon Hammerstein and partially run by celebrities, including Jude Law and Rachel Weisz. "Nobody in the city's nightclub business has dropped prices because, if you do, they will smell weakness. You have to target the [customers] who have money [to] keep the integrity of the product."
As the shift from extravagance is a reality, price cutting retailers are making clients doubt about the value of certain 'articles'. In order to best avoid downward spiral of confidence, it's high time brand owners, exclusive destinations, craftsmanship in general, come to terms with the issue of value and worth of the experiences and products offering to existing clients. Rethinking luxury inevitably means rethinking our customer first and making necessary adaptations. There was an interesting debate about luxury surviving the economy covering wide subject area - if you are interested follow the link:
Read on debate from the Penn Fashion Week hosted by @Wharton
I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Louis D’ Amore and his team for the great meeting he organised between Greeks and Turks of Cyprus who work in tourism. It is very nice to see that on this island there is still hope, dreams and civic good will.
During the session that took place in the Goethe Institute in the green Zone in Nicosia we had the experience to meet with Greek and Turks, both Cypriots, to have an excellent brainstorming session of how tourism can contribute to peace. We all felt comfortable almost 100% of the time of course 36 years of separation is a huge gap and the differences were also there in a very healthy and open manner.
I would like to thank all and each of the participants for their inspirations, good will and visions.
Let’s keep the spirit up and work for a better future for us and our children on a united and European Cyprus.
Social media is changing the world of Tourism. This is something we all know and we all experienced during emergence2009.
Trip Advisor is probably the place where most of us, as hoteliers go to see how our hotel is rated. Now Trip Advisor also has another face, the search by key word face. If you search Filthy Hotels in Cyprus on Google or even worse search Filthy Hotels on Trip Advisor we see that this portal is NOT a valid source of information.
On the list of Filthy Hotels in Cyprus you will probably see your own clean hotel that comes up. I am sure that hotels like Ledra Iberostar in Paphos is not filthy, like St. Raphael Hotel in Limassol is neither filthy, I was there many times myself and they were very clean hotels.
The word filthy is just another word in the English language; customers may use it in a hotel review to describe how filthy the clothes of the kids got after playing in the kids club and had a great time. This is the case of Louis Phaethon that arears on the list of Filthy hotels despite its rating is really good.
The list of filthy hotels in Cyprus on Trip Advisor is huge and it goes back until 2006. So is Trip Advisor a benchmark? How valid are the comments and the search results there? Judge yourself? Is there a way to avoid this? Yes there is. !!!
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