CYPRUS TOURISM ORGANISATION CYPRUS CONVENTION BUREAU

Transcription

1 CYPRUS TOURISM ORGANISATION CYPRUS CONVENTION BUREAU PROGRAMME FOR THE PROVISION OF HOSPITALITY TO PROSPECTIVE CONFERENCE AND INCENTIVE TRIP CUSTOMERS TOWARDS THE EXECUTION OF INSPECTION VISITS A. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME The targeted promotion of the upgraded special product of conference and incentive tourism through the provision of hospitality to prospective conference tourism customers in Cyprus for the execution of inspection visits with the aim of getting acquainted with the conferences infrastructure in Cyprus and the destination in general, as well as personally meeting the Cypriot professionals in this field. B. BENEFICIARIES Local licensed travel and tourism offices which fulfill the minimum criteria of the Cyprus Convention Bureau, have been classified as Destination Management Companies and are included in the catalogue which is posted on the official Cyprus Tourism Organisation website in the section Conferences and Incentives under the title Destination Management Companies and Professional Congress Organizers. C. AMOUNT FOR THE PROVISION OF HOSPITALITY The amount for the provision of hospitality for every inspection visit towards the inspection of the proposed hotel accommodation and conference venues for the hosting of a specific conference, incentive trip meeting or event (please refer to Paragraph E.5) covers 80% of the trip cost with a maximum of 500 against actual expenses incurred. In the case of provision of hospitality to more than one person, the total amount for the provision of hospitality will not be exceeding 500. D. ELIGIBLE EXPENSES Against real expenses for the purchase of airline ticket / tickets (to and from Cyprus) in Economy Class, including airport taxes. 1/5

2 E. PREREQUISITES AND CRITERIA 1. The prospective customers of the applicants of the Programme to be hosted, must be executives / members of international, European and regional associations and organizations, of companies (private or public), of academic and other institutions, of Incentive Houses and Conference and Incentive Agents and must be holding positions of decision-making power towards the organization of meetings, conferences, incentive trips and events relevant to conference and incentive tourism. 2. Admissible applications towards the provision of hospitality for the execution of inspection visits will be considered: a. The applications for which the prospective customer has already requested a tender from the applicant. Therefore, all applications must be accompanied by a relevant Letter of Confirmation based on the template (please refer to Paragraph F), which must be completed by the prospective customer and submitted directly to CTO by at ThaliaChristodoulidou@visitcyprus.com at the prospective customer s responsibility. b. The applications which mention the name of the proposed conference, meeting, incentive trip or event for which the inspection visit takes place. c. The applications concerning a proposed conference, meeting, incentive trip or event of more than 30 participants from abroad. 3. The applicant must submit the application (please refer to Paragraph F) to the Organisation towards the provision of hospitality for the proposed inspection visit, at least one month before the execution of that visit. 4. The approval of the provision of hospitality granted by the CTO must be secured before the execution of the inspection visit to Cyprus. 5. Every applicant is allowed to apply to the Organisation towards the offering of hospitality for a maximum of three inspection visits in every calendar year. 6. It is noted that for every application, hospitality will not be offered to more than one inspection visit towards the organization of the proposed conference, meeting, incentive trip or event. 7. Applications for the provision of hospitality submitted within the framework of the said Programme, will be considered on a first-come, first serve basis according to their date of submission to the Organisation and until the exhaustion of the allocated funds in the Annual Budget of the Organisation. It is provided that, the Organisation reserves the right to afford priority to the examination of applications submitted by applicants who have not previously benefited from the said Programme within the year. 2/5

3 F. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS 1. Eligible applicants must submit the relevant application in Appendix A, duly completed. The completed application must be accompanied by the relevant Letter of Confirmation letter duly completed by the prospective customer, based on the sample confirmation letter in Appendix B and must be sent together by the applicant to the Organisation, at the address: ThaliaChristodoulidou@visitcyprus.com 2. The Letter of Confirmation must also be sent by the prospective customer directly to the CTO by at ThaliaChristodoulidou@visitcyprus.com 3. The programme of the inspection visit to be followed, with every relevant details, must also be submitted. Notes: Only applications that are duly completed and accompanied by the relevant Letter of Confirmation to the Organisation on behalf of the prospective customer will be taken into consideration and following the direct submission of the Letter of Confirmation to the Organisation by the prospective customer, as well. The responsibility for the confirmation of receipt of the submitted application lies solely with the applicant. G. EVALUATION PROCEDURE Following the receipt of the application by the Organisation, it will be evaluated on the basis of the aforementioned criteria and prerequisites and the decision of the Organisation will be officially communicated to the applicant within 15 (fifteen) working days from the date the application. H. OBLIGATIONS OF THE APPLICANT 1. Granting a CTO Officer the right to participate in the inspection visit to Cyprus. 2. The participation of the applicant in the process of collection of statistical data concerning conference and incentive tourism, as per the relevant Questionnaire for the Collection of Statistical Data for Conference Tourism and Incentive Travel, which will be sent during the execution of the survey. 3. Informing the potential customer through about the provision of hospitality by the CTO for the inspection visit following the granting of the relevant approval by the Organisation. This should be communicated to the CTO by including (cc) ThaliaChristodoulidou@visitcyprus.com in the addresses. 3/5

4 I. OBLIGATIONS OF THE CTO 1. The Organisation will be treating all documents and information received in relation to the Programme as private and confidential and will not be publicizing or revealing any data submitted, without the prior written consent of the applicant. 2. The Organisation will be offering meet-and-greet services and assistance at the airport upon arrival of the guest, as long as this arrival falls within the working hours of the CTO information offices at the airports. 3. The Organisation will be preparing an info bag for the prospective customer who will be offered hospitality, which will be containing information material on Cyprus, a CD with a video on Cyprus, a gift and a welcoming letter by the Director of Tourism of the Department of Strategy and will be delivered upon arrival at the airport. J. REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION FOR THE PAYMENT OF THE APPROVED AMOUNT FOR THE PROVISION OF HOSPITALITY Following the completion of the inspection visit, the following documentation will have to be submitted by the applicant: 1. The Personal Declaration in Appendix C duly signed. 2. The final rooming list of the prospective customers which have been approved for the provision of hospitality within the framework of the inspection visit which was conducted, as printed from the reservation system of the hotel/s of stay. 3. A brief report on the outcome of the inspection visit conducted (impressions, whether it met the requirements of the event / group intended to be hosted, suggestions and recommendations on the product, any problems which may have arisen.) 4. Copies of the invoice and the payment of the airline ticket and relevant receipt. All the documents to be submitted must have been issued on the name of the applicant. The payment of the total amount for the provision of hospitality will be paid to the beneficiaries only after all the aforementioned documentation has been submitted and pursuant to the compliance with the obligations mentioned in Paragraph H above. In the case where the required documentation submitted is not complete, the payment procedure will be discontinued. The Cyprus Tourism Organisation reserves the right to further examine the documentation submitted and to request any additional relevant proof for the eligible expense. Provided that in case the Organisation determines that any false documentation has been submitted by the beneficiaries of the Programme in question or that the 4/5

5 applicant is in breach of any of his / her obligations, the Organisation reserves the absolute right to cancel the approved amount of subsidy and / or to request the refund of any amount already paid by CTO. Provided that is the case, in addition to any other penalties imposed by CTO, offenders will be excluded from any participation in the subsidies of the organization and hence they will not be eligible for subsidization through the available Incentive Schemes, Hospitality Programmes and any other subsidies, invitations, commissions or cooperation with the Cyprus Tourism Organisation relevant to Conference and Incentive Tourism for two years, starting from the current year. It is also provided that the applicants and / or beneficiaries of the CTO Programme for the Provision of Hospitality in question, accept without any reservations all the terms, criteria and prerequisites that it includes. The Programme may be altered without any notice. K. FURTHER INFORMATION Cyprus Tourism Organisation Cyprus Convention Bureau Thalia Christodoulidou Tel: (+357) ThaliaChristodoulidou@visitcyprus.com Last revision /5