site.btaWill Migrants Affect Cyprus’s Tourism Image?

Could the influx of refugees in Cyprus harm the country’s image as a tourist destination? This became a matter of public debate after quite unpleasant information spread about the conditions in which migrants and refugees on island lived.

The discussion focused on the condition of the Pournara migrant reception centre near the capital Nicosia. Non-governmental organisations have repeatedly criticized it, saying the number of accommodated asylum seekers exceed its capacity several times over and the quality of care for the migrants is far below standards. The fact that there are over 300 unaccompanied minors there caused even more outrage.

President Nicos Anastasiades visited the centre and was shocked at the sight of thousands of migrants crammed in one facility, including many children.

As could be expected, he pledged to make conditions more humane and said that any "deficiencies'' at the camp resulted from an influx of migrants and would be "dealt with accordingly." 

Anastasiades said difficulties were to be expected given that nearly 5 per cent of the island nation's population are asylum seekers, and Cyprus continues to be one of the highest first-time asylum seekers per capita rate among all 27 European Union member states (relative to the countries' population size).

In 2020, the country of 1.2 million people topped the list with 8,448 first-time asylum requests per one million residents. Asylum seekers on the island numbered nearly 64,000 in the last two years, Interior Ministry data show. 2,202 unaccompanied minors entered the southern part of Cyprus in 2009 – 2021 and the number of men is surprisingly high.

Graphs show a 487 per cent spike in submitted asylum applications in 2021. A drop was registered in 2020, explained with the pandemic situation across the world.

At an extraordinary meeting of the cabinet following the president’s visit to Pournara, the government decided to extend 60 million euro for improving the conditions at the centre, construct a second reception centre and accommodate migrants at hotel complexes and apartments.

However, it was precisely the idea to use the island’s tourist infrastructure to resolve the problems with the migrants that raised some concern that it would reflect on the tourism sector. Tourism is vital for the economy and is particularly vulnerable because the pandemic is in its third year and the war in Ukraine began a month ago. The island had hoped to achieve pre-pandemic levels this year and relied a lot on the Russian market, a traditional strong presence in Nicosia. In the present situation, though, the fulfilment of such designs seems well-nigh impossible.

That concerns about the migrant crisis and this year’s tourist season are closely knit can bee seen clearly in exchanged comments.

Last week, Paralimni resort mayor Theodoros Pirillis objected to plans to move 150 unaccompanied minors from Pournara reception centre to hotel facilities in the area. He said he felt for humanitarian problems but thought the relocation of foreign migrants to tourist sites would have a negative impact in respect to Cyprus. Commenting on the Tourism Ministry’s plans to accommodate Ukrainian refugees and migrants from Pournara to hotels along the beaches around Famagusta, Pirillis said thought should be given to the tourist product of Cyprus and the possible negative consequences for it.

“A tourist who comes to Cyprus in April and is accommodated at a place where there is alarge concentration of refugees or migrants will run away from Cyprus and forget our country. He will say ‘we had a wonderful time, but Protaras, Paphos, Limasol are full of migrant refugees,” says the mayor and his words doubtless express the dominant public opinion. Currently, tourism produces 20-30 per cent of the country’s GDP and provides a lot of jobs.

The mayor voiced the fears of a large portion of the public: that the incumbent cannot cope with the problems arising from the migrant influx and foreign nationals are already living in ghettos, which does not allow their adequate integration.

Now the incoming wave of refugees from Ukraine will be heaped over the already existing problem of migration policy. According to official data, to date Cyprus has taken in 15,000 Ukrainians. Not a small number at all that will have an inevitable impact. And the fact that Ukrainian refugees in the EU are treated in a rather different way compared to refugees from Africa and Asia will complicate matters even more. 

It remains to be seen how the Mediterranean island will cope with the migrant pressure on all sides.