Innovative Investments in the Tourism Industry: the case of Cyprus

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1 Innovative Investments in the Tourism Industry: the case of Cyprus Presented by Margarita Papantoniou Lawyer Lecturer at European University Cyprus George Papantoniou & Co LLC Lawyers & Legal consultants

2 Top Tourist attractions in the world Tourists around the world are magnetized mostly by three major categories of attractions: 1) Amusement and Leisure 2) History, Art and Monuments 3) Natural Beauties Each category attracts different type of tourists, although a lot of tourists are interested to get a taste of all three categories when they visit a country so their trip offers them a diversified experience!

3 Tourist attractions : 1) Amusement and Leisure This category includes casinos, theme parks, water parks, shopping malls. Most popular world attractions: Disneyland (USA, France, Japan, China) Universal Studios (USA, Japan), Sea World (USA), Ocean Park (China), Mall of America (USA), Casinos (Las Vegas, Monaco).

4 Tourist attractions : 2) History, Art and Monuments This category includes museums, churches, art galleries, theaters. Most popular world attractions: Sydney Opera House (Australia), Trafalgar Square (UK), Notre Dame (France), Louvre (France), Eiffel Tower (France), Statue of Liberty (USA), Vatican (Italy), Coliseum (Italy),Pyramids (Egypt), Great Wall of China (China), Van Gong Museum (Netherlands).

5 Tourist attractions : 3) Natural Beauties This category includes parks, lakes, beaches, farms. Most popular world attractions: Niagara Falls (Canada), Tivoli Gardens (Denmark), Grand Canyon (USA), Canals (Netherlands), Blue Flag Beaches (Greek islands), Farms (Austria), Lake Bled (Slovenia), Budapest Caves (Hungary), Chamonix (France), Lake Prespa (Greece),Floral Gardens (Netherlands).

6 Cyprus Tourism at a glance Cyprus is a tourist destination that combines all three categories and is rich in natural beauties, history and leisure. It s a place suitable for vacation by families or by bachelors. The tourism industry in Cyprus contribution to GDP exceeds 10% and in the year 2012 the revenue from tourism was over 2 billion Euros.

7 Innovat-ing in Cyprus Tourist Industry

8 Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean with nice, clean beaches. Many beach bars and restaurants. If someone wants to be competitive he has to be innovative! Cost limitations.

9 Innovative ideas

10 Marina Construction Docks for small boats and yachts has always been on high demand because of the high boat traffic. Existing Marinas cannot satisfy the current demands in size and standards. A marina with high standards, facilities and services such as refueling, washing, repair, chandlers, parking, stores and restaurants would not only attract local tourists but also tourists from surrounding countries that are interested to visit Cyprus for a few days with their boats or yachts and enjoy the nice, blue beaches and blond sand!

11 1-3 day Cruises coast to coast (live-on-the-sea) Small tourist boats that perform hourly tours exists in abundance all over the island but a cruise boat with cabins for a small amount of tourists that are willing to live on-the-sea for a few days and enjoy most beaches around the island is an idea that would definitely be successful. It would be an exciting alternative of renting a hotel room by the beach.

12 More Innovative ideas

13 Besides the beautiful beaches and natural beauties that Cyprus has, it also has an advantageous geographical location as it is in the crossroad of Middle East, Egypt and Europe. Someone could invest in projects that would attract tourist from all three regions that seek for amusement destinations. Two main projects that someone could invest would be the following:

14 Casinos The idea of legalizing gambling and promote Casino construction in Cyprus has been on the table for many years. If the legislation allows these types of projects in the near future, it would definitely be a profitable and innovating business to do in Cyprus.

15 Amusement Parks The western part of Cyprus would be the appropriate place to develop such project because the area morphology combines mountains with sea view. It could be a small Disneyland-like project close to the beach where families can have fun at the theme park but not stay away from the sunny beaches!

16 Steps to follow before and after a new investment Legal opinion. Find the most effective tax structures for new business. Make all necessary applications to the competent authorities. Receive specific permits and comply with certain standards.