The Cyprus
Wine Routes [Cyprus island]
AGRISLES success stories booklets series
Project cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund
Authors Alexandros Gavriel, Department of Agriculture, Cyprus Ploutarhos Pantelides, Cyprus Tourism Organisation
Design ICALPE - International Centre for ALPine Environments Casa Pastureccia 20250 RIVENTOSA [FRANCE]
Introduction This is a general overview of the status of the agriculture sector of Cyprus. In addition, it describes a success story of an application of non technological innovation in the insular environment of Cyprus. The application of this success story aims to enhance the development prospects of the rural area and show how a non technological innovation can result to territorial organization involving a public-private partnership. The analysis of this story is based on the methodological grid produced by the project Med AGRISLES.
Chapter 1 Context of the Island
Turkey
Brief description
Syria
Cyprus is the crown jewel of East Mediterranean Sea. A place, whose history and civilisation spans for centuries in an ideal natural environment and a unique climate. Its strategic place at the intersection of three continents has also been a cause of misfortune for Cyprus during the last 6000 years, turning it into the object of desire for many conquerors that envied its beauty. Cyprus is located on the north-east part of the Mediterranean Sea and covers an area of 9.251 square kilometers (5.898 Km2 are controlled by the Republic of Cyprus due to the Turkish invasion of 1974) with a total population of 800.000. Nicosia is the capital of the island located at the centre of the island and it is the main commercial market of Cyprus. The Turkish invasion in 1974 and the occupation of nearly 37% of the territory of Cyprus divided Nicosia in two.
Cyprus
Lebanon
Israel
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After Sicily and Sardinia Cyprus is the largest island in the Mediterranean. To the north lies the Pentadactylos mountains which consist mainly out of limestone. The mountains go up to about a 1000 meters and what is most striking about them are the sharp clifs and frayed edges. More to the southeast of the island dominate the Troodos mountains with the Olympus (1953m.) as highest top of the island. Mesaoria, a very fertile plain, lies between these mountain ranges. The south and east coast are known for their sandy beaches. There aren’t many rivers in Cyprus. They are more like mountain streams which have only water in the springtime. Cyprus used to have a lot of woods in the ancient times, but at the turn of the 20th century the mountain slopes were almost bare as a result of deforesting and fires. At the present almost a fifth of the island has some woodland by planting new trees and forests. Cyprus owes it’s name to the trade of copper in the ancient times. Cyprus is the most dry and warm island in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean climate, warm and rather dry, with rainfall mainly between November and March, favours agriculture. In general, the island experiences mild wet winters and dry hot summers. Variations in temperature and rainfall are governed by altitude and, to a lesser extent, distance from the coast. Hot, dry summers from mid-May to midSeptember and rainy, rather changeable winters from November to mid-March are separated by short autumn and spring seasons.
General context The Republic of Cyprus is an independent state since 1960. It is divided in 6 provinces, NicosĂa, Limmasol, Larnaca, Paphos, Kyrenia and Famagusta. Cyprus productivity has undergone a complete restructuring starting from the mid1960s, passing from a primarily agriculture based economic, to a predominantly service based economy, with slight improvement of the industrial sector tied to the national as well as international markets. The main advantages of the area are the high level of attractiveness for tourism, its geographical location and the favorable climatic conditions. On the other hand, the main weaknesses of Cyprus are the insularity of the region resulting in connection problems with central and northern Europe, the high risk of droughts and the lack of trade organization. Nevertheless, there are a lot of opportunities for improvement especially through the strengthening of economic performances through a better integration of the areas national and regional strategies.
Cyprus at a glance Area: 9251 km² Population: 803 200 individuals (In Government controlled area) in urban areas: 70 % in rural areas: 30 % Density: 117 hab/km²
GDP Structure by sector Tertiary sector: 70% Secondary sector: 24% Primary sector: 6%
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Agriculture and rural areas Cyprus economy and especially the rural agriculture economy are in a transitional phase due to the new economic environment as a result of the Accession of Cyprus to the European Union (EU) in 2004. Furthermore, the current global financial crisis has added further difficulties for this sector. The trade globalization and the EU agreements resulted in higher competition pressure for Cyprus products. The total population of Cyprus (In Government controlled area) is 803.200 from which an important part, around 30% is engaged in rural areas. The evolution of the urban and rural population of Cyprus is shown in Diagram 2. As is evident from the diagram an intense urbanization occurred between 1960-1980. During the last 2 decades this problem has been stabilized mainly due to the creation of employment opportunities, substructure development and the services offered in the rural in combination with the increased living cost in urban areas.
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The contribution of the agriculture sector to GDP is 6% while it continues to employ 10.3% of the total working force and contributes by 37% to the total exports. The SWOT analysis which was implemented through MED Agrisles showed that the main strengths of Cyprus are among others, the production of traditional products (like haloumi, zivania and soutzoukos) and the high level of attractiveness for tourism. On the other hand Cyprus faces major difficulties mainly due to the high risk of droughts and the intense urbanization which took place especially during the 1960s. Nevertheless, there are several opportunities arising from the accession of Cyprus to the European Union and the strengthening of economic performances through a better integration of the areas national and regional strategies.
Challenges facing the evolution of agriculture Rural development is considered very important for Cyprus as it is the instrument through which the scourge of desertification of these areas can be controlled. Agriculture in the rural can be combined with other activities like agritourism, craftsmanship, etc giving an alternative opportunity for economic development in these areas. The future of the rural areas is not single-functional. The multifunctionality of different sectors adding to the improvement of the infrastructure of the area is crucial in order to retain the younger generation in the rural but also for the preservation of the environment. The maintenance of agriculture development in these areas supported by scientific research can open a new window for development in the future.
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Importance of agriculture in terms of land use, landscape, biodiversity The Turkish invasion of 1974 resulted in many problems for the Cyprus economy and to 200.000 refugees. The economic miracle of the creation of an economically viable country in limited time occurred due to the contribution of the agriculture sector and the attractiveness of the island to tourism. Even though the agriculture sector has been reduced during the last two decades we can not overlook its crucial role to the local economy, the society and the environment. Currently, a total agricultural area of about 150.000 hectares is used with farmers growing mainly cereals, olives, carobs, vines, citrus, potatoes, vegetables and others. According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, 21.2% are permanent crops, 51.8% are temporary crops and the rest of this area is used as fallow, uncultivated, forested and for grazing.
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Importance of agriculture in the regional economy Even though there are no specific data available, the decline of the agriculture sector in combination with the reduction of state funds for this sector by the end of 2012, as a result of the European Union new Common Agricultural Policy and the global financial crisis shows the significance and the need for renovating the rural sector. The induction of non-technological innovation as a mean of improvement of the organization in various levels of the agricultural economy is very important. The improvement of the organization in the level of the producer, the level of producer organizations but also in the level of the territory is maybe the key to the solution of the problems that they face, especially for the trade of their products.
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Chapter 2
The Cyprus Wine Routes 13
Summary The Cyprus Wine Routes project has been implemented by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) and was co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The goal of the project was to create a network of itineraries, which would reveal the identity of the specific geographical areas and hence would attract increased numbers of visitors and tourists to those rural areas. The deliverables of the project consisted of 6 sign-posted itineraries that run through various areas of Cyprus closely associated with vines and wines, guides and brochures with maps, showing the route and its various stages. The routes allow visitors to discover the wine products of the region and the activities associated with them. This “discovering� is carried out directly in vineyards, allowing the traveller to meet the local producers, and in spaces specifically organised around the wine production such as wineries and wine museums. The itineraries involve visits at wineries, discovery of natural landscapes and vistas, visits at museums and other cultural/ religious monuments, the chance to shop for traditional products and savour culinary specialities in selected tavernas/ restaurants.
Starting point Cyprus has a wine tradition that goes back centuries, with specific rural areas preserving their local wine producing heritage. This tradition is clearly reflected in various archaeological findings and in the geographical clustering of wine-producing villages in a region known as the “Krasochoria”. This local specificity and the geographical proximity of wine villages, combined with other wine-related cultural aspects and other natural points of interest, presented an opportunity for the development of ‘route tourism’. Defining and mapping a route would result in linking together the various tourism resources of a number of smaller communities and collectively marketing them to visitors as a single tourism destination region. This falls in line with the observed trend of visitors increasingly wanting to live authentic experiences during their stay abroad.
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Anogira Village
Historical development of the experience The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) acknowledged that these less developed rural areas are rich with cultural resources which would appeal to special interest tourists. Having recognized the important potential of these tourism resources, CTO included in its Strategic Plan for Tourism, the creation of wine routes as key actions in its broader goal of promoting rural tourism as a special interest product. Within this framework, CTO implemented the Cyprus Wine Routes project which was co-funded 50% by the European Regional Development Fund and 50% by national resources, during the Programming Period 2000 – 2006. The goal of the project was to create a network of itineraries, which would reveal the identity of the specific geographical areas and hence would attract increased numbers of visitors and tourists to those rural areas. The deliverables of the project consisted of 6 sign-posted itineraries that run through various areas of Cyprus closely associated with vines and wines, guides and brochures with maps, showing the route and its various stages.
The pathways allow visitors to discover the wine products of the region and the activities associated with them. This “discovering” is carried out directly in vineyards, allowing the traveller to meet the local producers, and in spaces specifically organised around the wine production such as wineries and wine museums.
Approach or methodology used CTO used a market-driven approach by which the specific communities’ tourism products, the local wines and their related activities and goods, were defined and “packaged” to be attractive to tourism markets. The itineraries involve visits at the wineries, discovery of natural landscapes and vistas, visits at museums and other cultural/religious monuments, the chance to shop for traditional products and savour culinary specialities in selected tavernas/ restaurants. With their inclusion in the network, every winery and tavern/restaurant acquires benefits but is also subject to obligations. These businesses gain from the publicity and exposure, while their obligations are mainly focused on compliance to the selection criteria, which were set by the initial study. For wineries, these criteria include amongst others the provision of facilities suitable for wine tasting and the proper maintenance of buildings, equipment and environment of the wineries. For tavernas, the criteria include amongst others the inclusion of a representative selection of local wines in its Menu and Wine List, the respect of correct serving procedures for the various types of wine, and the inclusion of a selection of traditional Cypriot dishes. The steps: Preparation of a study in order to evaluate the existing situation, infrastructure and superstructure available in the viticulture areas in Cyprus. Consultation with wine producers, local authorities, owners of rural tourism establishments and other professionals focussing on rural development. Application for sponsorship of specific actions by the EU. Preparation of action plan based on the results of the study already executed for the design and promotion of wine routes Setting of quality standards for inclusion of wineries in the project Development of educational skills Involvement of local societies in project implementation Provision of educational seminars for tourist guides, winery owners Familiarisation trips for journalists and tour operators in rural areas Organised excursions in the wine routes Networking with other networks of wine routes in Europe
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16 Wine Museum in Erimi
Results obtained By linking the tourism industry to the agricultural sector, the Cyprus Wine Routes unlock development opportunities for both sectors and contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of those employed in them. The Routes have led to an increase in the demand for local goods and services, encouraging the development of businesses and contributing to their commercial viability. The Routes have also resulted in increased numbers of visitors to the area, who often do not stay there but show higher expenditure to pursue their particular interests. In brief, the main achievements: Involvement of agricultural businesses in tourism activities Exploitation of new opportunities for agricultural businesses Further promotion of rural tourism in agriculture areas Diversification of economic activities in agriculture areas Development of new networks in agriculture areas
Initial situation
Current situation
2004
2008
INDICATOR 1
Lack of cooperation among the main stakeholders
Establish mechanisms of cooperation among local authorities, micro businesses in the countryside and tourism professionals
INDICATOR 2
Insufficient signposting for wineries in rural areas
Signposting of 6 routes in the countryside
INDICATOR 3
There was a need for qualitative improvement of the events organized in rural areas
Organisation of more thematic wine events in rural areas
YEARS ACHIEVEMENTS
RESULTS INDICATOR 1
Establishment of the wine route company responsible for the promotion of Cyprus
INDICATOR 2
Interest from tourism professionals in rural tourism and especially wine
INDICATOR 3
Positive effects in the promotion of Cyprus wines
INDICATOR 4
Diversification of the tourist product in rural areas Winery in Kathikas
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Conclusion The development of tourism activities through the implementation of the Cyprus Wine Routes has contributed to an enriched range of experiences for the visitors. At the same time, they have contributed to the sustainable development of the areas, by acting as a catalyst to stimulate economic growth, to provide alternative forms of employment to the local work force, to retain local population and to increase the standard of living of local communities. CTO made optimal usage of the cultural and environmental resources which constitute a key element in tourism development, by ensuring viable, long-term economic operations which provide socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders, while respecting the socio-cultural authenticity of the host communities.
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Ineia Village
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THE AGRISLES SUCCESS STORIES BOOKLETS SERIES
The partners of the MED AGRISLES project, representing public authorities in charge of agriculture and rural development in the Balearic islands (Spain), Corsica (France, project lead partner), Sardinia and Sicily (Italy), Gozo (Malta), the Northern Sporades (Thessaly) and North-Aegean archipelagos (Greece), the Cyprus island (Cyprus) and the Azores (Portugal), altogether are exchanging experiences and developing a common method for non-technological innovation in agriculture and rural development. They publish a series of booklets to disseminate identified best practices on this issue. The Cyprus Wine Routes is an original approach for the valorization of the Cyprus agriculture in order to diversify the touristic products and adopt a strategy of sustainable development of the rural tourism. These thematic roads represent a true challenge for the promotion of the rural tourism but also for the wine production. A charter of quality has been implemented to select the wine farms which may be able to welcome the roads...
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