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Amatas, Cyprus — King of powerful warriors and one of Alexander the Great’s successors, Demetrius Zaveziger built the port on the south coast of Cyprus 2400 years ago and is the ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy Os. It is said to have blocked the invasion of the Navy from the first generation. Alexander’s heir.
French archaeologists who first studied the ancient harbor of Amasas believe it was the work of an imperfect military fortress, whose three piers are ready to repel offensive forces in the ancient world. Contained the best naval vessels of the.
Just 200 feet from the coastline near the resort town of Limassol and just a few feet below the seabed, the harbor is Cyprus’ latest tourist attraction for adventurous vacationers to snorkel the submerged stone ruins.
This is a new direction for Cyprus tourism authorities seeking to reach out to specialized tourism markets beyond the long-held “sun and wave” products of the eastern Mediterranean island nations.
The blockade of COVID-19 has significantly reduced the arrival of tourists on the island, which is heavily dependent on its income, and Cyprus authorities have said that the island is a visitor to rekindle the interest of those who choose to travel. We are considering new things to offer to.
Yiannis Violaris, a Cypriot antiquity official, says the port is unique to the entire eastern Mediterranean because of its proximity to the coastline.
He says these attributes can bring more people in the global surge in interest in diving tourism. The fact that Cyprus has won the top mark with the cleanest water of all other European Union countries for the second year in a row is also a big bonus.
“Tourists as well as local visitors have the opportunity to see this impressive ancient harbor, swim over it and see how three moles were built around it,” Violaris said. Told the Associated Press.
A professional dive crew is currently cleaning the vegetation harbor, marking underwater routes that swimmers can follow on their tours.
Diving tourism is nothing new to the island. For years, divers flocked to the shipwreck of MS Zenobia, a Swedish ferry that sank in about 140 feet of water in 1980, just over a mile away from the coastal town of Larnaca.
Shipwrecks are ranked as one of the best in the world for divers. However, the owner of the dive shop, Mikaris Shinopoulis, said the authorities would have to do more to get it on the world’s dive map, such as sinking a large ship near the coast to create an artificial reef. It states that it is necessary to do.
Tourism directly accounts for about 13 percent of Cyprus’ economy. According to the latest available figures, tourist arrivals from January to February of this year will be 86 from the same period in 2019, when Cyprus recorded a record high number of travelers choosing to vacation on the island. % Decreased.
Tourism officials hoped the industry would recover this month after the top two markets in Cyprus, the UK and Russia, put the island on the “green” list of safe destinations. Now they want August to be a turnaround.
Industry bosses recognize that this sector is rarely “outside the forest” and are calling for a rethinking of how to sell Cyprus tourism products.
Hotel Association Chief Harris Roigides said at an industry conference last week that the country’s tourism industry “needs to adapt dramatically to survive and continue its significant contributions” to the economy.
He suggested reaching out to niche markets through digital marketing and further focusing on the “big picture” of what Cyprus offers, such as local culture and cooking.
“The sustainability of the mass market has been questioned,” Roigides said. “I think large gatherings will gradually become a thing of the past.”
This is the message that the Cyprus Ministry of Tourism is keeping in mind to redesign its logo and reach out to new markets.
“The EU is a big market, so many countries, and they feel that travel sentiment has just begun to recover in Europe, so we will not lose courage and optimism,” said the Deputy Tourism Minister. Sabas Perdios said. Associated Press.
According to Perdios, authorities are working to extend the holiday season and launch a “game change” campaign called the “Heartland of Legends.” The campaign allows tourists to visit the village and witness the locals making the island’s world-famous Harumi cheese.
Perdios encourages digital interest that potential vacationers from non-traditional markets such as France and Germany are showing on their trips to Cyprus, despite reduced arrivals from the UK and Russia. Said that it has been.
“We’ve been working on these markets … I’m still optimistic because things don’t happen from one day to the next,” Perdios said.
Perhaps the siege Demetrius approved it.
By Menelaos Hadjicostis
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