Sports Tourism in Cyprus - Business Proposal

Cyprus is unique destination for tourists from all over the world. The island has great advantages for visitors such as sun, sea, fine weather conditions, services, hospitality and professionalism of staff. “Tourist Arrivals in Cyprus decreased to 357194 in October from 421201 in September of 2016. Tourist Arrivals in Cyprus averaged 190802.91 from 1990 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 482132.00 in July of 2016 and a record low of 16748.00 in February 1991” (Tradingeconomics.com, 2017)   

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Cyprus also has great potential for development sport tourism. According CTO “Sport tourism is most valuable assets when it comes to alternative forms of tourism”.

The constant fall of arrivals and tourist revenues during the last decade (Cyprus Tourism Organisation-CTO, 2010) that resulted in the decrease of the island’s competitiveness as a destination (Boukas and Ziakas, 2012), made the Cypriot tourism policy-makers to seriously consider golf tourism as a means to counterbalance the negative climate and the serious chronic problems of the island’s tourism (i.e., seasonality, low service quality, mass tourism) (Archontides, 2007). Hence, the Strategic Plan for Tourism 2000-2010 and 18 its second version, the Strategic Plan for Tourism 2003-2010 prepared by CTO, put emphasis on the development of a number of golf courses as major tourism infrastructure projects in order to help enrich the image of the island’s tourist product (CTO, 2000; CTO, 2005; CTO; 2010). Even though the value of golf for Cyprus tourism was recognized since 1993, serious interest for golf by the tourism policy was noted during the beginning of the new century (Boukas et al., 2012). In 2003 the government granted permission for the construction of eleven more golf courses on the island (added to the already three completed golf courses until then) for the enrichment of the tourism product and in harmony with the synchronized development of property and tourism (Archontides, 2007). Finally, in 2009 the Council of Ministers refined the golf courses policy in Cyprus: the final number of golf courses was determined to fourteen and given to the dry climate of the island and the water shortage problems, each golf course should not use water from the public tanks and draining system but should use individual desalination plants that would produce the amounts of water needed for maintaining golf operation via renewable means (Ministry of Finance, 2009). Until today, five golf courses operate on the island, most of them located in Paphos and are accompanied by other types of development such as real estate and hospitality units.

Event: International Golf Tournament, 3 days event to introduce Cyprus as golf destination to international tour operators from Austria, France, Finland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Lithuania, UK and Switzerland. Golf tourists will be primary sport tourists where will be experienced participants and learning participants( beginners). To perform in the event guests will need specific resources and facilities, collecting places, always affluent& independent and golf for them is like lifestyle appeal.

Mission statement: Also the main purpose of this event is to attract tourists from different countries to participate or to support their favorite team.

Aims: The main aim to present Cyprus as a golf destination during the winter season and holidays period. The event will happen in order to increase more sport tourists to Cyprus.

Objectives: SMART ( Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time- Bound)

• With one purpose to generate sustainable growth of golf tourism
• Different tourists coming for business purposes and thereby they represent and secure the long term interest of the golf tourism
• The primary objectives of the CGF are to promote, administer and encourage amateur golf in Cyprus.

Organisational Profile

Maps:

The event’s physical layout and the resources required:

All Year Round Golf at Aphrodite Hills, the first ever leisure and golf development of its kind in Cyprus, Aphrodite Hills Golf Resort is home to a magnificent 18-hole championship golf course, dedicated 3-hole Golf Academy and magnificent Clubhouse, designed for golfers of all standards and ages. Spreading out over 6,289 metres and overlooking the site where Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is said to have emerged from the sea, our golf course is truly a unique location in which to test your skills with friends.

The award-winning golf course was officially opened in 2002 and was designed by the acclaimed architect, Cabell Robinson. Robinson has designed Aphrodite Hills to be the perfect mix of challenging pot bunkers, manicured fairways of lush Bermuda grass and generous tiered greens.

Visually spectacular, the course expands through indigenous olive and carob trees and is built on two plateaux, separated by a dramatic ravine with outstanding views over the Mediterranean. And the staggering 130 metre gorge dividing tees at the 7th hole is an enticing challenge for all lovers of this beautiful game.

Format: The luxurious 234-hectare Resort which is located 15 km from Paphos District and magnificently positioned on two plateaux divided by a dramatic ravine and commands breath-taking sea views of the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.Aphrodite Hills is home to a number of integrated facilities, again for the pleasure and use of all guests to the Resort. Facilities include the majestic and visually spectacular 18-hole championship-standard Golf Course, with 3-hole Golf Academy that caters for all ages and abilities. A team of resident PGA-qualified Golf Professionals provide valuable tuition. A driving range, pitching and chipping green, an impressive Golf Clubhouse, Lounge and Pro Shop complete the outstanding world-class golf facilities.

Timing: The date of this sporting event in Cyprus will be running during winter on 25^th of December at 10:00. The average of people expected to participate from abroad is approximately 30 people

Stakeholders: Tour operators specialising only in golf, or with a golf department, range in size from small companies, some handling only 250 golfers a year, to mass-market tour operators such as TUI, Thomas Cook and Hana Tour, each of which has a sports or golf division. More than half of the sales of small golf tour operators are non-golf, but the percentage of golf sales increases with the size of company. Or looking at this another way, the larger golf tour operators (excluding the mass-market operators) focus entirely or predominantly on golf.

Gantt chart:

Marketing and promotion:

The main objective of the CTO is the organization and promotion of tourism in the Republic by making full use of all existing possibilities. An effective promotion requires a delicate balance between giving your audience what it wants and convincing them of whatever it is you want – whether to buy your product, order a service, or attend an event. If you’re selling golf products, however, your job is much easier. Rather than convince your audience they need your club, bag, or shirts, you are simply presenting an already interested crowd with things they likely already buy. First way of advertisement is online advertising – heading straight to the World Wide Web to catch your customers may seem like an obvious strategy, but it’s one you don’t want to miss – the sheer numbers of potential consumers online make the Internet a massive world of opportunity. Second way is golf infomercials. They show your audience exactly how they can benefit from your product. A golf infomercial is an excellent way to provide a captivating and informative visual explanation as to why your product is better than the rest. Third is a Live demonstrations – These can be performed at any number of golfing events, conventions, and merchandise exhibitions. The advantage of a live demonstration is similar to that of an infomercial – letting people experience the unique benefits of your product -while taking it to the next level of advertising by putting your product literally in front of the consumer. And the last way is Print ads – advertising in magazines or newspapers is a classic, time-tested strategy for reaching your desired population of golf enthusiasts. Whether placing an ad in a monthly golf publication or the sports section of the local newspaper, you are marketing to a select group who is already inclined to buy your products.

Is it financial viable? It is very important to have financial opportunities of service, and a good relationship with the public sector, such as national, state / provincial, regional and local authorities. This will help tourism, ensure the safety of tourists (and the safety of the event itself), sustainability, financial assistance and much more. And also very important to maintain contact with the specialized agencies, which provide sports tourism policy at the national level (different types of Director) and provide funding, technical support, etc. The most important thing is to provide sports facilities at the local level tourist port companies. For such an event, the dancers need a place to speak (stage closed / open), a place for training, opportunity (musical, technical, water, light) . Another one of the main points is the administration and policy. It is very important to have good and strong relationship with them, as they solve complex and intertwined problems frequently encountered attitude sports tourism in our increasingly globalized world. Often organizers faced with the transfer date of the event (weather conditions, etc.), and in this situation they refer to policy and management

What are the risks? (Risk management, operational risks, marketing risks, financial risks) This section shows the project’s early understanding of risk. Naturally, the project size and complexity will be the main drivers of this activity. The objective at this stage is to identify the risk response development that you want to formally build into the project execution processes. In order to do so, the project team must identify and quantify the risks as normal. In the quantification step, it is important to develop common probability and severity criteria so that all risks can be objectively evaluated to the extent possible. Event has two important phases. It is initiation and planning.

Initiation creates a project charter that minimally contains a description of the business need, the desired deliverables, and a formal approval to proceed by appropriate management. They must to inform the people from different countries about the event (from internet, TV, blackboard ).Planning creates an integrated plan outlining in greater detail the var- ious projected aspects of the proposed effort. Articles in this section will deal with these topic areas in more detail. A major point in this chapter is that the initiation process and its related planning activities are fundamental activities that should not be shorted to save time.

The social, environmental and economic impact: On the one hand, there is evidence that golf has adopted organizational citizenship practices and become an environmentally friendly sport (Husin et al., 2012; Limehouse et al., 2010). On the other hand, it is argued that the growth of golf tourism engenders considerable risks to the sustainable development of destinations, and hence, raises serious controversies in local communities between proponents of golf’s beneficial effects on tourism and economy and opponents who call attention to the adverse environmental, economic and socio-cultural impacts of golf (Boukas et al. 2012; Briassoulis, 2007, 2010, 2011; Davis and Morais, 2004; Neo, 2010; Palmer, 2004; Perkins et al., 2010; Wheeler and Nauright, 2006)

In conclusion, it is very hard to create an event. Everything must to much each other the weather, people, date of event, time, place, hotel, transportations, tourist, stakeholders, budget. You should plan an interesting event in order managers, sponsors and stakeholders liked it .

References:

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/11/22/golfing-touristors-last-year/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017].

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://tgaproductions.com/golf-infomercial.html [Accessed 6 Jan. 2017].

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/29018459.pdf [Accessed 6 Jan. 2017].

Aphroditehills.com. (2017). About Aphrodite Hills Resort, Cyprus. [online] Available at: http://www.aphroditehills.com/Aphrodite-hills/resort/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2017].

Boukas, N., Boustras, G. and Sinka, A. (2012) ‘Golf tourism in Cyprus’, in Mufakkir, O. and Burns, P.M. (Eds.), Controversies in Tourism, CABI, Oxfordshire, pp. 144-159.

Cgf.org.cy. (2017). Cyprus Golf Federation | CYPRUS GOLF FEDERATION | NICOSIA | CYPRUS. [online] Available at: https://www.cgf.org.cy/about-cgf [Accessed 5 Jan. 2017].

Cyprus Mail. (2017). Sports seen as way to boost tourism – Cyprus Mail. [online] Available at: http://cyprus-mail.com/2014/02/12/sports-seen-as-way-to-boost-tourism/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017].

Cyprus Tourism Organisation – CTO (2000) Strategic Plan for Tourism 2000-2010. Available at: http://www.visitcyprus.com/media/b2b_en/Strategic_Plan/STRATEGIC_PLAN_ FOR_TOURISM_2000_2010.pdf (Accessed 26 July 2011). 40

Cyprus Tourism Organisation – CTO (2011) Cyprus Tourism in Figures 2010, Cyprus Tourism Organisation, Nicosia.

Cyprus Tourism Organisation – CTP (2005) Annual Report 2005. Available at: http://media.visitcyprus.com/media/b2b_en/CTOAnnualReports/Annual_Report_ 2005.pdf (Accessed 26 July 2011). Cyprus Tourism Organisation – CTO (2010) Strategic Plan for Tourism Development 2003-2010. Available at: http://www.visitcyprus.com/media/b2b_en/Strategic_Plan/Stategic_Plan_for_tour ism_development_2003-2010.pdf (Accessed 26 July 2011).

Husin, S., Chelladurai, P. and Musa, G. (2012) ‘HRM practices, organizational citizenship behaviors, and perceived service quality in golf courses’, Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 143-158.

Tradingeconomics.com. (2017). Cyprus Tourist Arrivals | 1990-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast. [online] Available at: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/cyprus/tourist-arrivals [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017].