International Campaign to Economy

The government is joining forces with the business community to help attract investments to Cyprus.

The campaign, spearheaded by the Commerce  Ministry and the  Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) will cover 21 countries in Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East , the Gulf, Eurasian countries, as well as developing Asian countries.

Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides and Keve Chairman Manthos Mavrommatis said the aim was to promote the island as an international business services centre and to attract foreign direst investment.

This years’s campaign starts on a positive note, with revenue from tourism in January and February 2010 up by 4%, despite a decline in tourist arrivals and registration of foreign companies showing a 23% increase over 2009.

Both Paschalides and Mavrommatis Said Cyprus can become an international services centre and attractive for foreign direct investment.

They also said that this year’s  campaign was intensified following the financial crisis and will exceed last year’s record of 19 countries.

“the crisis has shown our dependence on the outside world,” Mavrommatis said, adding that unlike bigger countries, the Cypriot open economy cannot base its recovery on its small internal market.

Paschalides highlighted the importance of the services sector, noting that the contribution of the sector in Cyprus GDP today stands at 79% during the past decade.

He added that apart from the traditional services such as auditing shipping, the ministry is focusing on new fields such as education and medical services.

Replaying to a question, Mavrommatis said that given the fact that tourism and construction show a sharp decline due to the financial crisis, services should become Cyprus’ priority.

Paschalides pointed out that in the first two months of 2010 revenue from tourism has shown a 4% increase, despite a decline in tourist arrivals.

He said the rise in revenue from tourism can be attributed to the ministry’s work to attract more quality tourism.

“We want the numbers but the numbers is not an end in itself. We want quality tourism,” he concluded.