Investigating the impact of major environmental works on tourists in major destinations in Cyprus. The cases of the Wastewater Treatment Station at Kato Polemidia area, and the water management and restoration activities at Oroklini Lake

Abstract

Tourism is a combination of goods, services and activities and is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic sectors of the economy worldwide. Tourism is one of the leading industries in the world and the same time is an important source of employment and growth factor in its various forms. For the Cypriot economy, tourism is a key sector with a major contribution to the gross do-mestic product of the country and the employment index. However, tourism activities affect the livelihood of residents of a community when it becomes a tourist destination. Similarly, the devel-opment of environmental projects affects tourism either positively or negatively. The aim of this work is to investigate important environmental projects that could affect the tourism industry and to what extent this impact is positive or negative. Based on the data analysis, the study clarified the level of impact and proposed methods of sustainable cooperation between the required environmental projects and the tourism industry. This study focused on two environmental projects. One concerns the Limassol area and is related to the wastewater treatment plant at Kato Polemidia area and the other concerns the water management and rehabilitation activities at Oroklini Lake. The research also showed that the three main negative effects that tourism has on the environment are its destruction, garbage and waste on the beaches. But the three positive effects that environ-mental projects can have on tourism are improving the quality of tourism, attracting alternative tour-ism and highlighting natural landscapes. Finally, most participants stated that the two specific envi-ronmental projects slightly increase environmental pollution. The research questions showed that there is a difference between the participants who know the two environmental projects under consideration as to whether the environmental industry enhances tourism and that the tourism industry respects the environment, while there is a difference between the participants who know about its work wastewater treatment plant at Kato Polemidia as to whether the tourism industry respects the environment.