Dubai, UAE - The Cyprus Tourism Organisation regional office based in Dubai is excited to announce the creation of its newsletter. “Our aim is to inform travel professionals and potential vacationers about Cyprus and to keep them updated on what the island has to offer,” says Director Vassilis Theocharides. The newsletter will be circulated on a monthly basis, in both Arabic and English.
With the holiday season well under way, more and more Gulf and Middle East based travellers are searching for new destinations for their vacations. Traditional European cities and the Far East still dominate travel trends this year. However, a new destination is being offered as an alternative: the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
Situated in the south eastern Mediterranean basin, only 3 hours by plane from Dubai, Cyprus is now being offered as a new short-haul destination for the GCC. The island is already a favourite among European and Lebanese visitors, and has 2.5 million visitors per year, compared to its population of 800,000. “With breathtaking landscapes, sandy beaches, green pine covered mountains and a smiling populace, Cyprus is a fresh destination for GCC travellers. It’s a great alternative to long distance destinations for families, which can be tiring,” relates Theocharides, who heads the newly opened office of the Cyprus Tourism Organization in Dubai.
For travellers wishing to discover new destinations, Cyprus offers family-oriented holidays in the beauty of the Mediterranean. Cyprus is just a 3-hour flight away, through Cyprus Airways, Emirates and Gulf Air.
Gulf visitors can get a visa within two days at the Cyprus Trade Centre in Al Ghurair City in Dubai or at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
Opera comes to Cyprus:
With a cultural heritage stretching back more than nine thousand years, cultural events like those taking place in front of the medieval castle of Kato Pafos look more than natural. Cyprus is littered with reminders of the
island's history. Relics from every era—Greek temples, Roman mosaics and 15th-century frescoes—influence the artists of today. Many villages specialize in a particular art form, and as you travel around Cyprus you'll
see pottery, silver and copperware, basket weaving, tapestry and Lefkara's famous lacework.
Paphos, the westernmost city in Cyprus, is hosting once more one of the regions most awaited cultural events, the Paphos Aphrodite Festival. Every year, Europe’s leading philharmonic orchestras are brought to the scenic Paphos castle for an enchanting night at the opera. Casual holiday clothes are traded for smart threads, and the town falls into the charm of an opera night.
This year, the Paphos Aphrodite Festival is presenting its seventh operatic production with Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, performed by the National Opera of Poland, opening on the 3rd of September. The Festival brings opera to the island every September, inviting locals and visitors to a night of magic, lavish scenery and gifted vocal artists. Following the successful staging of Aida (1999), Carmen (2000), Nabucco and Zorba the Greek (2001), Turandot (2002) and Tosca (2003), the organisers are offering yet another
unique experience with Verdi’s Rigoletto. This year’s operatic presentation will be enhanced by the introduction of super titles translating the libretto into Greek and English above the stage.
Around 7,500 tickets are available for the three nights. Interested parties should call immediately for tickets, which range from 150-350 Dirhams.
For further details, please call 00357 26-822218 or the Cyprus Tourism Office in Dubai at 04-2277637. You can also email tourism@cyprusme.com or visit the official Paphos Aphrodite Festival www.pafc.com site.
FORUM
Name of event: 1st International Sport Tourism Forum
Dates: 27th - 28th September 2005
Venue: Hilton Park Hotel Nicosia, Cyprus
Athos Ltd. is organising the 1st International SPORT TOURISM FORUM taking place this year in Cyprus on September 27th & 28th, 2005, at the Hilton Park Hotel Nicosia.
The target is to create a new yearly institution that offers a dynamic international platform for Sport Tourism professionals and academics to exchange their experience in the growing sector of worldwide tourism
development, exchange experience and create new business contacts. The conference will give the opportunity to examine all positive effects of Sport Tourism in each country such as receiving tourists desiring to combine their holidays with physical activity and recreation, organising sport excursions and camps for schools, welcoming amateur and professional athletes for training purposes and hosting major sport events, thus attracting tourists from around the world, enhancing and extending the traditional local tourism season.
The forum dates coincide with World Tourism Day, highlighting the remarkable growth of Sport Tourism and its incredible potential.
For further details please contact the organizers of the forum:
Athos Ltd.
tel.: (+30) 210 6627981
fax: (+30) 210 6624282
e-mail: ecoq@otenet.gr, info@ecoq.gr
(source: www.traveldailynews.com)
Photo: UAE travel agents visiting Cyprus during a familiarisation trip in March 2005 (photo taken in front of the Center of Artcraft in the capital Lefkosia)
