The government is investing steadily in the development of Cyprus’s mountain regions and countryside, placing particular emphasis on the lasting value of authenticity, Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis has said, adding that the Troodos region has everything it needs to meet growing year-round demand from travellers for nature-based experiences.
The minister was speaking at a thematic conference titled “Mountain Areas, Special Forms of Tourism and Community Resilience”, held on Thursday morning in Agros as part of the Mountain Games Cyprus 2026 event.
According to a statement from the Press and Information Office, Mr Koumis congratulated the MountMed Institute, which is coordinating the event together with ten partner organisations under the theme “Healthy Lifestyles for All”. He noted that, over four days and as part of European Sport Week, the Troodos UNESCO Global Geopark is hosting 35 activities across eight of its villages.
He said the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, and the government more broadly, continued to invest steadily in developing mountain and rural areas, with particular focus on authenticity, which he described as a major asset for the tourism sector.
Under the National Tourism Strategy 2035, he said, nature and rural tourism along with cultural tourism are defined as enriching specialist forms of tourism, with nature trails given a prominent role.
Mr Koumis said specialist tourism products were key to extending the tourist season, spreading visitor flows into inland areas, and cementing Cyprus’s status as a year-round destination.
Recent studies, he added, show that travellers are increasingly seeking contact with nature, outdoor activities and experiences that bring them closer to local communities. He said he was confident that Troodos, with its trails, wine villages, geopark and UNESCO monuments, had all it needed to meet that demand.
For this reason, he said, authorities were promoting hiking and cycling tourism in close cooperation with the Forestry Department, working to create and mark routes and upgrade forest recreation infrastructure. He described the publication by the Cyprus Organisation for Standardisation of the Cypriot Standard CYS 550:2025, covering the design, construction, marking and management of hiking trails, as a significant step in this direction.
He said the standard was the first at national level to set out criteria for the general characteristics and difficulty level of Cyprus’s trails, along with minimum requirements for their design, construction, marking and management.
The aim, he said, was to ensure trails were safe, accessible and well maintained, showcasing the natural and cultural environment of each area and offering a better-quality experience for hikers.
Mr Koumis also said that, as a member of the European Hiking Federation, authorities were working to apply the European “Leading Quality Trails – Best of Europe” certification criteria, with a view to creating the conditions for certifying Cyprus’s first long-distance trail.
