Christos Angelides: My priorities as General Manager of the Cyprus Hotel Association

The newly-appointed General Manager of the Cyprus Hotel Association (PASYXE), Christos Angelides, said that maintaining close cooperation with the Board and nationwide members of PASYXE will be his top priority, as he officially assumes his duties.

In an interview with InBusinessNews, Angelides said there are opportunities available for funding through the Recovery and Resilience Fund, and so another top priority will be to secure as much of this funding as possible; and guide PASYXE members to do the same.

Positive prospects for the hotel industry

Regarding the prospects of the hotel industry, he believes they are positive, “as long as we seize the opportunities presented or continuously create new ones”.

“These opportunities must be consistently transformed into fertile ground where our entire tourism product can flourish and improve, always with rational planning,” he added.

Year-round tourism

Concerning the goal of turning Cyprus into a year-round tourist destination, the new General Director of PASYXE stated that it is achievable. He suggested that “we could gather all the significant scattered events that take place annually on our island and strategically schedule them at different times of the year to attract tourists during periods when more activity is needed.”

Priorities and goals

You assumed the role of General Manager of PASYXE on 1 January. How significant do you consider this step in your career?
First and foremost, I would like to thank the President and the entire Board of Directors, as well as the members of PASYXE, for the honour they have bestowed upon me by offering me this important opportunity to work for such a prominent Association. An Association that significantly contributes to the economy of our country and to the invaluable tourism sector.

After 30 years on the front lines of the hotel industry and with the experience and knowledge I have gained as President of the Hotel Managers Association and other committees, I view this opportunity as the culmination of my professional journey, which I will utilise to support and contribute to the great efforts of PASYXE.

What are your priorities and main goals?
My primary goal is to maintain close collaboration with the Board of Directors and the Association’s members across Cyprus. I intend to safeguard these relationships as a top priority so that, together, we can achieve our goals.

The current situation is of critical importance for the hotel industry, due to the opportunities available for securing funds through the Recovery and Resilience Fund or through the creation of similar programs that offer businesses the chance to make significant leaps forward in terms of technological, energy, and infrastructure upgrades.

Therefore, one of my priorities is to absorb as much funding as possible and guide our members in that direction.

Through these actions, we can effectively address modern challenges, such as the green transition and digital transformation.

PASYXE must be beneficial and valuable to all its members, enabling us to find the best practices for tackling the challenges we face, regardless of the size of each business.

Additionally, I want to effectively promote the social role of PASYXE, emphasising its contribution not only to our members but also to society as a whole.

Our fellow citizens must be aware of the diverse initiatives, particularly those that involve supporting vulnerable members of our community.

Prospects and risks for the hotel industry

What do you believe are the prospects and risks for the hotel industry in the coming years, and how can they be addressed?

The prospects for the hotel industry seem promising, as long as we embrace the opportunities that arise or continuously create new ones.

These opportunities must consistently be transformed into fertile ground, where our entire tourism product can continue to flourish and improve, always with rational and well-thought-out planning.

We have been discussing, for example, the need to extend the tourist season for years. In our view, we should now be aiming for a unified tourist season, during which we offer unique experiences to our visitors throughout the entire year. One Cyprus, one season.

In this context, PASYXE has an important role to play, and our goal is to always be a valuable partner contributing effectively to our major national objectives.

On the other hand, the greatest risks are related to external factors affecting tourism.

These factors must be anticipated and addressed promptly and methodically, as much as possible. Particularly in the case of climate change, there is much that can be done, even by individual hotel units.

Our goal as PASYXE in this regard is to provide guidance and advice to our members, enabling them to take the necessary actions and initiatives to cope with the increasingly challenging climatic conditions worldwide.

Through such measures, we will be able to maintain the competitiveness of our tourism product against new competitors, such as northern countries, which are gradually making a strong entry into the summer holiday market.

Achieving the goal of turning Cyprus into a year-round destination

How can Cyprus attract more tourists from new markets today?

Attracting tourists from new markets should not be the ultimate goal. A realistic objective is increasing the share of tourists from existing mature markets.

For example, if we manage to slightly increase the currently low percentage of tourists we receive from the German market, this could result in an additional 300,000 to 400,000 tourists per year.

Therefore, what is truly worthwhile is focusing on developing our tourism product in a way that boosts tourist flow from the markets we already have.

The next question is how we can achieve this. Enhancing wine and gastronomy tourism and promoting it as part of Cyprus’ tourism identity is one such example.

This approach would simultaneously benefit other small and medium enterprises in the primary sector that produce local products.

Additionally, we should delve deeper into these markets, targeting specialised tourist groups with specific interests, such as cycling, sports tourism, and hiking.

In recent years, the goal of turning Cyprus into a year-round tourist destination has been set. Is this goal achievable, and if so, how can it be accomplished?

We believe this goal is achievable. For example, we could gather all the significant scattered events that take place annually on our island and strategically schedule them across different periods to attract tourists during times when more activity is needed.

Additionally, we could pursue the organisation of smaller-scale global events, such as choir competitions, chess championships, ping pong tournaments, and local product festivals—such as halloumi festivals—in months like March and April.

All of this requires collaboration between the government, local authorities, relevant associations, and the hotel industry.

Mergers, acquisitions and investment opportunities

A strong trend in Cypriot business seems to be mergers and acquisitions. Will we see this trend intensify in your sector? How could Cyprus become a more attractive destination for investment in the hotel sector?

I do not foresee a strong trend of mergers in the hotel industry, but acquisitions could occur. There is a need to upgrade some older hotel facilities. However, to attract significant foreign investments, we must achieve the goals we have already outlined.

That is, achieving the objective of year-round tourism combined with the overall upgrade of our tourism product in a way that profitability increases, making it worthwhile for a large organisation to come to our island and invest.