Cyprus Property Investment News

Cyprus steps up efforts to attract year-round tourism

Following recent predictions of rising visitor numbers, Cyprus is looking forward to the completion of a number of new marinas around the island, which is expected to boost maritime tourism as well as visitor numbers to the different regions of the island. The latest project to be announced is the new Paphos Marina, the contract for which has just been awarded to a consortium headed by the Leptos Group. Completion is planned for three years’ time, and the project is expected to cost €70 million - land in the local area has already seen a sharp rise in value.

Five marina projects are currently underway around the island: the construction of Paphos Marina, Limassol Marina, Ayia Napa Marina and the Paralimni Marina, and the extension of Larnaca Marina. Cyprus’s accessible location is expected to give its marinas an advantage over those in Greece, Turkey and Israel, and these current projects are planned to improve year-round tourism over the whole island.

Investors in Cypriot property will note that, as well as the island-wide benefits that these projects promise, the price of real estate in the immediate area of the marinas is already rising. For example, since the contract for construction was awarded, the land around the site of Paphos Marina has already increased threefold, though work has yet to begin.

The news comes after reports from the Association of Cyprus Travel Agents that visitor numbers are expected to increase over the next few years, in response to efforts made to boost the island’s tourism industry, and so investors can expect increased demand for rental accommodation. Furthermore, according to figures from lastminute.com, 32% more Britons booked holidays to Cyprus this year compared to 2007, confirming its increasing popularity.