Editorial

Citation

Garanti, Z. and Berjozkina, G. (2021), "Editorial", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 689-690. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-12-2021-137

The global impact of the pandemic and climate change events is in various ways shaping discussions about sustainable tourism development – especially in locations like Cyprus where tourism is a substantial contributor to employment and national income. This issue investigates the challenges and opportunities for tourism sustainability in the Republic of Cyprus, and I am delighted to welcome the theme editors Zanete Garanti and Galina Berjozkina and their team. Tourism plays a vital role in the economic development of Cyprus, but it is concentrated in the coastal zones, and this causes overcrowding and over tourism in the summer season. How then could tourism be encouraged throughout the year in a way that is beneficial to the economic, social, cultural and environmental life of the island? I would like to thank Zanete, Galina and their colleagues for their thought provoking analysis of this issue and other changes that could assist with a transition to a more sustainable tourism future.

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes (WHATT) aims to make a practical and theoretical contribution to hospitality and tourism development, and we seek to do this by using a key question to focus attention on an industry issue. If you would like to contribute to our work by serving as a WHATT theme editor, do please contact me.

Richard Teare

Managing Editor, WHATT

What are the challenges and opportunities for tourism sustainability in Cyprus?

Cyprus is a small island state that is heavily dependent on tourism activity and that has experienced rapid growth over a period of several decades. Although Cyprus is successfully managed as a sun and sea destination, it lacks a sustainable tourism approach due to being seasonally unbalanced and with only one type of attraction. In this theme issue, we address some of the main challenges for the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the tourism industry in Cyprus. Articles focus on stakeholder involvement in sustainability planning, support availability to undertake sustainability-driven initiatives and residents' perceptions of rapid tourism growth. We also consider ways of developing a sustainable tourism industry through education, the Cyprus sustainable tourism initiative, the development of rural thematic tourism and 3D technology development.

Although the issue specifically focuses on Cyprus, the challenges and opportunities are similar in other small island states and destinations that heavily depend on tourism. Moreover, in light of all countries' economic and health crises, discussing sustainability approaches and challenges are particularly important. Many countries will aim for a quick economic recovery rather than a slower approach to a more sustainable tourism industry. In summary, we believe that by exploring the challenges and opportunities for sustainable tourism development in Cyprus that some of the possibilities and potential solutions are transferrable to other small island settings.

Zanete Garanti and Galina Berjozkina

Theme Editors

About the Theme Editors:

Zanete Garanti PhD is an Associate Professor at City Unity College Nicosia, Cyprus. She lectures on marketing and management and is actively researching marketing topics such as branding, social media marketing and influencer marketing. Zanete's recent studies are on travel and tourism influencers, brand personality, loyalty and equity on social media networks, e-referral and brand image. Her work is published in internationally recognised books and journals.

Galina Berjozkina is a Senior Lecturer at City Unity College Nicosia. She is a PhD student at the University of Strathclyde, Department of Work Employment and Organization and is engaged in research on seasonal employees' work performance in the tourism industry. Galina lectures on tourism planning and development, hospitality animation and introduction to hospitality. Her academic interests include tourism, hospitality and management. She has attended several academic conferences and has published a book on Destination Management.