We had a general idea of what we thought Cyprus had to offer as a holiday destination before we went to the Cyprus Tourism Organisation roadshow.
Customers often think it is an expensive destination – the cost of a holiday is usually higher compared with other Mediterranean countries – but thanks to all that Cyprus has to offer in terms of sightseeing, history and culture – not to mention the beaches – it is always a popular year round destination that sells itself.
The roadshow itself was very interesting, we didn’t really know what to expect and were quite surprised to find that some of the hotel representatives were actually the owners! We were given lots of information about the individual hotels and learned about the facilities they had to offer – we even had invites to stay!
Overall, the standards of the hotels exhibited were very high, so although the holiday may seem pricey at first, they really offer excellent value for money.
The evening was very entertaining. We saw a film about all of the island’s different strengths, took part in the raffle to win a holiday, and were served a delicious meal. We finished the evening dancing with our Cypriot hosts at the disco.
The evening was very enjoyable and a good way to learn about the destination. We can now sell Cyprus knowing that our customers will have a fantastic holiday. If we have any queries the hoteliers and tour operators that we met will happily deal with our questions.
I have never been to Cyprus so my knowledge has been gained mainly from my colleague’s experiences. This has certainly helped me sell the destination. Before, I wasn’t very clear of the geographical region or the suitability of the hotels to our local market.
My expectations of Cyprus and the type of holiday it offered were fairly high. Ihad always considered it to be an upmarket destination and not too commercialised.
After my invitation to attend the Cyprus evening, I was looking forward to learning more about the hotels and resorts and meeting the local people.
The whole evening was a success in my eyes and definitely lived up to my expectations. All the exhibitors were very welcoming and informative, most of the hotel displayed were of exceptional quality and had excellent facilities. There were hotels that catered for all types of the market, including children. Ihadn’t really thought of it before as a popular family destination.
The evening has given me more confidence to sell any resort in Cyprus knowing that our clients will receive a warm and hospitable welcome. I had a really enjoyable time and got to meet and talk to lots of the exhibitors during dinner.
The evening ended with some local Cypriot dancers and we got the chance to try and learn a few steps too!
Cyprus is one country that I have never visited because Ialways thought of it as an upmarket and expensive place. I have never been really confident in selling it as a destination because I was unable to give first-hand information.
The roadshow proved to be a interesting evening. In the foyer and conference rooms were stands manned by tour operators and representatives from some of the hotel chains. To encourage us to visit all of the displays, the CTO gave us a card with the number of each stand to be signed by the representatives after receiving information from them. Once these cards have been completed they were put into prize draw for a free holiday. There was also plenty of promotional literature available.
We were then shown a short video about the resorts and some of the hotels inCyprus, followed by a talk from a member of the tourist organisation. The evening ended with a three course meal, disco and prize draw.
It was a good evening and I now feel more confident advising clients on about Cyprus. For those not wanting a beach holiday on the more popular resorts I can now recommend the hotels available in the smaller mountain villages. Some of the larger hotels also offer excellent wedding packages, conference facilities and for the more energetic clients, the country clubs offer all types of sports including archery, football, golf and horse riding. Overall it was an enjoyable, well-organised evening. Maybe next year I will visit Cyprus and see for myself!