Buyukkonuk Eco Tourism Association  will  celebrate its seventh anniversary next Sunday, April 1, by combining its traditional activities twist.

The pioneering eco-village destination plans an Outdoor Fest 2012, sponsored by  Turkish  Bank,  which  offers hiking and photography, cycling, climbing  and camping activities using their network of nature trails.

This year will see  the first Buyuk konuk Community Biathlon race and outdoor associations have pledged their support.

Serdar Turganer, head of the North Cyprus Air Sport Federation, said:” We will have a stand there and weather permitting, will bring our hot  air balloon”.

Lois Cemal helped found the Eco-tourism Association with husband İsmail  and saw the area declared a pilot project by a North Cyprus Council of Ministers decision in 2005.

She said “The Festivals have enabled local women to earn a weekly wage in their home village. More and more people are stopping by and we now have  three bed and breakfast  hotels run by local women plus 13 chalets at the municipality Pine View picnic area.”

Donkey rides for youngsters will be on offer and a mid-morning village walk start at 11am. Traditional hands-on bread, cheese and mud brick building demonstrations begin after stalls open at 10am.

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Paphos tourism board took part in the National Wedding Show in Birmingham from March 16-18 to promote the district as  a destination for nuptials to UK  couples.

Representatives from the tourism board and hoteliers association attended  the event, returning satisfied with the out come of their efforts.

A pavilion promoting the district as a wedding and honeymoon destination attracted dozen of visitors as part of  the implementation of an action plan for development of weddings tourism.

Local representatives also made contacts with wedding ceremonies organisers based in the United Kingdom and exchanged views on further promotion of Paphos through hosting journalist from specialist  magazines. More than 250 exhibitors participated in the show this year.

The four municipalities in Paphos District each make hundreds of thousands of euros from weddings each year largely through touting the area’s romantic connections to Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love.

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Tourism professionals in the  Famagusta area welcome the increase in flights from Russia in the summer, but fear possible restrictions during spring and autumn.

“We hail the open skies bilateral  policy that has been agreed upon for all Russia for the period starting June 1 to September 20,” head of the Famagusta Tourism Development and  Promotion  Company, Lakis Avraamides told.

“But we are worried the Cyprus government can exercise a veto on certain flights  from Russia to Larnaca airport during the period prior to June 1 and after September 20,” he added.

Russian tour operators are said to be ready to bring 400,000 Russian holiday makers to Cyprus in 2012, up from last  year’s  330,000.

They also say that  flying to Paphos carries an extra cost, while they have  pre-paid hoteliers in the Famagusta  area, some of whom have started  renovations of their establishment, he added.

Avraamides  warned that  any restrictions on flights from Russia would be detrimental to local tourism, at a time when the UK, the island’s main market and Germany are down.

“Any restrictions the government may impose on Russian airlines, during Easter and between the end of September and October  would be catastrophic at a time like this,” he said,

Communications Minister Efthymios Flourentzos told, the bilateral  open skies agreement covers scheduled flights and aims to  tackle increased tourism traffic during the peak season.

“This memorandum was made for scheduled flights to tackle  increased  traffic to Cyprus for the period June, July, August until September 20 and concerns five Russian airlines.

“Beyond this memorandum , there is a bilateral agreement  with Russia under which other airlines flying from airports other than Moscow and St.Petersburg can fly to Cyprus. This is to safeguard Cyprus airways so that it can carry passengers from destinations it flies to ,”Flourentzos said.

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Cyprus leisure parks have formed an umbrella organisation to forge cooperation and to boost the services offered by the leisure industry  on the island.

The Cyprus Association of Leisure Park and  Attractions  (CALPA) will operate under the auspices of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).

The founding members are Waterworld Waterpark, Santa Marina Retreat, Extreme Park, Paliatso Luna Park, Paphos Zoo, Afrodite Waterpark, Envi Tech Ltd and Heaven’s Garden Waterpark in Fassouri, Limassol.

A spokeman  for the CCCI said that all the members were well-established with full operating permits.

“The aim is to approach and attract more members, ”he added.

The association aims to develop and cultivate friendship and cooperation between owners and managers of waterparks, swimming pools and theme parks such as the bird park, the camel park, zoos, go-karts tracks and luna parks.

The members also want to forge better relations with the official departments with which they deal and to assure health and safety for the public using them . a code of conduct is planned.

Association President Joseph Petrou told  “”This association is very important  in uniting all the parks in Cyprus. As a group, we will be able to speak about our rights as part of the leisure industry.”

“We can now join together so that we have a voice as an association when looking at legal issues and going to government Ministries to defend our rights.

We will be able to go to government ministries and  the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, knowing that we represent 70% of the leisure industry in Cyprus,” he added.

More than 2 million people mainly tourists, visit some form of park or leisure establishment in Cyprus every year.

“Leisure is a growing industry, people are always looking for days out. The leisure industry is also very important for tourism in Cyprus and the more  leisure parks we have , the more tourists we attract,” Petrou said.

There are currently more  than 50 leisure establishments and theme parks across Cyprus.

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Cyprus’ eight energy saving exhibition which launches today at pavilion 6 of the Nicosia State Fair, will be inaugurated by Minister of Commerce Praxoulla Antoniadou.

Savenergy 2012 showing the latest advances in renewable energy solutions , energy management systems and energy efficient technologies is being organised by the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB) in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce and the Electricity, Authority of Cyprus(EAC).

Exhibits at  Savenergy 2012  will include solar water  heaters,  energy saving  cooling and  heating system /technologies , wind , biomass and photovoltaic-panel generated electric supply,  thermal  insulation material, low emission  light bulbs energy  management systems,  generation, transmission, distribution and  utilisation  of energy  equipment , non-productive  energy consumption  and  energy losses reduction materials/ equipment cogeneration of electricity and heating/cooling  systems and electric and hybrid cars.

During the inauguration  Ceremony Antoniadou together  with the presidents of OEB and the EAC will award , for the sixth consecutive year, energy saving  cash prizes  of euro8.500 and euro1.700 to the business  and homeowner who have invested  in the most  effective renewable energy equipment this year.

Running alongside Savenergy will be Cyprus’ fifth water and environment exhibition  ‘Envirotec 2012’ which will be promoting products and services that that protect the environment  and save water and improve its quality.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to consult service providers such as architects, mechanical and electrical engineer consultants, energy consultants and bank institutions.

Savenergy  is considered  one of Cyprus’ most  successful exhibition s and last year attracted more than 25.000 trade visitors and consumers. The exhibition will be open until Sunday. Entrance is free.

Cyprus’ first magazine on energy and the environment ‘Eco Information’ will be distributed there for free.  For more information visit:www.savenergy.org.cy

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