Tourism minister says more needs to be done to promote Commandaria
Deputy Tourism Tourism Kostas Koumis has completed a tour of Limassol’s wine-producing regions, with a focus on villages making Commandaria, saying that it is important to promote the Cypriot dessert wine, describing this as “a duty owed to both our history and the local residents”.
Koumis was joined by mountains commissioner Charalambos Christofinas, chairman of the Limassol tourism board Tony Antoniou, general manager of the deputy ministry of tourism Costas Constantinou, as well as other ministry officials.
The deputy minister first met with Mattheos Protopapas, president of the Vouni community council, at the future site of the sommelier school, a project supervised by the Cyprus University of Technology (Tepak).
He then visited the Commandaria Museum in Zoopigi where he had a meeting with community council president Christakis Nicolaou.
Furthermore, in Kapilio, Koumis sat down with community mayor Andreas Antoniou and the presidents of the community councils of the other thirteen Commandaria villages.
According to a ministry announcement, all parties involved “had a productive discussion about local producers’ concerns and the necessity of further promoting Cyprus’ traditional wine”.
“The deputy ministry of tourism”, the announcement continued, “recognising commandaria’s historical significance, has developed several initiatives to boost its promotion, aiming to elevate this unique local wine”. These efforts are set to ramp up in the coming months, the announcement added.
“It is a duty towards our history and towards the inhabitants of the Commanderia villages to implement a programme of enhanced promotion of Commandaria, this very special local wine,” Koumis said in a statement.
He assured that he had carefully listened to the community councils and producers, saying that “it is necessary to study this issue in its entirety, starting with production and distribution and ending with promotion”.
What is more, Koumis acknowledged that Commandaria has long deserved more promotion and admitted to past mistakes, such as the partial neglect of the Commandaria museum in Zoopigi.
This museum, intended to celebrate Commandaria and attract tourists, has never operated to its full potential.
“It is a mansion which has never functioned as it deserved and as it deserves in the history of Commandaria and the villages that make it,” Koumis said.
“We have already begun a study of the matter at the deputy ministry of tourism, always in communication with the mountains commissioner and the local authority,” he added.
Moreover, Koumis said that “once the ownership issue is overcome, we will submit a proposal for its renovation, accompanied by a plan for tourism promotion”.
Koumis also said that promoting local wines is the government’s responsibility and requires a range of actions.
“While the operation of a sommelier school and the anticipated reopening of the Commandaria museum will be beneficial, a comprehensive plan is essential,” the minister concluded.