6. Agrotourism: a success story?
There is little doubt that, in terms of the restoration and improvement of traditional village properties and facilities, the agrotourism project has been successful. By 1999, all the civic projects financed by the CTO had been completed, whilst the number of accommodation units in operation continued to increase.
Furthermore, by 1998 a total of 29,245 guestnights in agrotourism establishments were recorded, an increase of 46 per cent over the 1997 total of 20,013. However, these figures give little indication of the true success of the agrotourism project as measured against its objectives. For example, the apparently healthy number of guestnights disguises a relatively small increase in low average occupancy rates across all accommodation establishments, from 21 per cent in 1997 to 23.5 per cent in 1998. Indeed, as the following evidence suggests, the development of agrotourism in Cyprus faces a number of problems which potentially militate against its potential as a rural development and tourism diversification policy.
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