The Larnaca Tourism Development Company (ETAP) aims to highlight the town as an excellent tourist destination. To achieve this target, the work of all parties involved continues relentlessly, the Company’s President Dinos Lefkaritis said.
He added that “in cooperation with all competent bodies, meaning the Larnaca Municipality and other Local Authorities, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, and the local hoteliers and travel agents, ETAP forms the direction that needs to be followed.”
It is not an accident, he continued, “that Larnaca was among the three candidate towns as European Destination of Excellence for 2023. Emphasis placed on practices focusing on more sustainable development in recent years has started to be recognized.”
In reply to a relevant question, Dinos Lefkaritis said that “ Larnaca constitutes a destination which is on the first line of redefining tourism as a pillar of sustainable economic development. We continue this project to achieve our targets so that Larnaca will become an excellent tourist destination.”
He also noted that even though tourism has been one of the most important sectors of the Cypriot economy, “in the post-pandemic era the need to restructure the tourist industry has emerged even more strongly.”
As he explained, “we must recognize that we cannot return to old practices. It is time to think of a new way in which to develop and promote our tourism,” adding that “priority must be placed on the people and the environment, according to the recommendations of the World Tourism Organization.”
He also pointed out that tourism is vulnerable to external factors like, for example, the pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war, adding that “for this reason, the issue is how to deal with these crises and how to make tourism stronger.”
Finally, he said, “it is extremely important to maintain the authenticity of our country and to highlight the arts, the culture, and our civilization in a qualitative way.”