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This project has been co-financed by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation and the European Commission under the Grant Programme, 36/G/ENT/CIP/12/B/N02S04- Grant Programme 2012 “Accessible Tourism”.

Website design:
CMP Polymedia Ltd.

© Cyprus Tourism
Organisation
, 2013

 
Eligibility Criteria

1. General Award Criteria

The key objective of the project is to select a Destination of Excellence in Cyprus which will be in line with the Commission’s theme of excellence, which is “Accessible Tourism”. More specifically, EDEN VI aims to reward those destinations which have developed a tourism offer based on an overall approach to accessibility for all tourists regardless of their physical limitations, disabilities or age.

The General Award Criteria has been derived from the Guidelines of the European Commission and is integrated into an on-off procedure. Therefore, eligible destinations will need to comply with these general award criteria and with a specific requirement in order to be described as a European Destination of Excellence in the frame of EDEN European Programme. The specific requirement is that the tourist offer should have been run from 2010 to be eligible for the application.

The general award criteria will require that destinations:

  • Are “non traditional”. The European Commission describes this as a destination where the visitor density ranges from “low” to “very low” in comparison to the national average1.
  • Manage its own tourist offer in such way as to ensure its social, cultural and environmental sustainability.
  • Be managed by a partnership between the authorities responsible for the management of the destination and all those involved in tourism in and around the area (e.g. tourist service providers, local communities, etc.). Public-private partnerships are admitted.
  • Have in place or under development a Marketing Management Plan and a defined strategy for the sustainable tourism development in the area.

Beneficiaries are exclusively Local Authorities and/or associations of Local Authorities. The beneficiaries can collaborate with other local entities (e.g. professional organizations) that cannot apply on the Programme.

2. Specific Award Criteria

The General Qualitative Criteria are determined according to the aforementioned General Award Criteria and the general aim of the EU preparatory action.

Each candidate area can be defined as a touristic destination under the frame of EDEN VI – “Accessible Tourism” if can include at least three2 (3) of the following:

  • Accessibility is an integral part of the local tourism strategy.
  • Persons with disabilities, their representative organizations and accessibility experts involved in both the planning and the implementation of the initiatives aiming at the increased accessibility for the tourists/visitors.
  • Organisation of awareness raising campaigns or information activities concerning the accessibility and the Accessible Tourism.
  • Evidence of the shared management responsibility for the destination of the relevant local stakeholders.
  • Management of the tourist destination (contribution to the tourist promotion of the destination, new tourist package or marketing initiative, promotional activities aiming at creating a real “sense of place”).
  • Evidence of the integration of environment and social concerns into the business strategy by those in charge of the tourism offer.
  • Favorable impact of the project on the local economic growth.
  • Effective communication to potential tourists.
  • Encouragement of the modern cultural activities (e.g. cinema, digital representation of tradition crafts).
  • Constitute a place of great hospitality for artists of any cultural interest often inviting them for competitions/concerts/exhibitions.
  • Host environment friendly accommodation units (hotels, rooms to rent, etc.).
  • Apply innovative forms of cooperation among local bodies and socioeconomic actors (e.g. a Local Steering Committee Group always assessing and supporting the implementation of new tourism strategies for Accessible Tourism and individual projects), and/or have created an integrated public-private-partnership among local stakeholders.
  • Cooperate effectively with Industry federations, innovation institutes, national and regional public bodies, market research organizations, trade associations and other relevant organizations on Accessible Tourism.
  • Created a network together with foreign destinations in order to exchange experiences, visitors, etc.
  • Use effective methods for communication of the destination to potential tourists. This could include the use of new technologies to present the tourism offer in the area, digital/improved signposting and the setting up of information centers.

Generally, the tourism offer should ensure that the environment and quality of life in the nominated destination is enhanced, and the local community should be encouraged to become involved in enhancing the quality of the visitor experience. To this end, the National Tourism Strategy of CTO as well as any other related policy documents should be taken into account.

1. Visitor density is defined according to the average number of visitors’ overnight in the candidate destinations for 2010 and 2011. The Beneficiary must present the relative information concerning the number of the visitors from the following sources:

  • Number of overnights that should not exceed five (7) overnights (if there are any accommodation facilities in the area.
  • Number of visitors in museums, exhibitions, etc (if there are not any accommodation facilities in the area).

In case that there is not any of the aforementioned information, the beneficiary can use the estimations of the Head of the Local Authority.

2. In case of vote equality among the participants, additional criteria will be taken into consideration in order to evaluate the final outcome.

Follow these links for information on rural Cyprus as well as travel and tourism information in Cyprus.

Cyprus Tourism Organisation
Cyprus’ National Tourism Organisation. Visit this site for in-depth information on tourism in Cyprus.

Natura 2000 Network
The European network for protected areas for wild species of flora and fauna.

Maps of the Natura 2000 Network Areas in Cyprus
The Natura 2000 Areas in Cyprus.

Website of the LIFE – NATURE Project
Conservation management in NATURA 2000 sites of Cyprus.

Association of Cyprus Travel Agents
The official association of travel agents and tour operators, regulated by CTO and EU law.