Euro Disney!...don't take the mickey!

Mickey Mouse and his freinds could become a regular sight in Cyprus following the annoucement of plans to build an €800-million Disney resort there. The Cypriot goverment is in the final stages of granting planning approval for a "EuroDisney' of the mediterranean", which would be the largest-ever investment made on the island, worth around £721million at todays exchange rate.

The project is backed by Russian investors, who aim to have it completed in 2012, in time for the start of Cyprus six-month presidency of the EU. The resorts proposed site is an UN buffer zone separating the Turkish and Greek borders, close to the popular tourist town of Larnaca, creating around 3000 jobs.

New route from Cyprus to Birmingham for summer 2009

Monarch Airlines are launching scheduled flights from Larnaca, Cyprus to Birmingham next year (2009) as they further expand network from the Eastern Mediterranean in response to huge public demand. The new twice weekly service will commence on Sunday 29 March 2009 and operate on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Commenting on the launch, managing director of Monarch’s scheduled services, Liz Savage said,

"We are delighted to be expanding our network from the Eastern Mediterranean with the launch of services from Cyprus to Birmingham. We have seen overwhelming demand for our services to Luton, Gatwick and Manchester and have been inundated with requests from the public to introduce services from Cyprus to Birmingham. I am sure that the people of Cyprus will warmly welcome the introduction of this service offering them a greater choice of direct flights and low fares.

"Monarch's onboard service is also perfectly placed for the four and a half hour flight time, with extra leg room seating, in flight entertainment - including full length feature films and the provision of hot and cold food all available."

Tersefanou Golf Course

ACCORDING to Overseas Property Professional, a consortium of Cypriot developers known as the Med Group is expecting to receive the go ahead for a €300 million golf resort project at Tersefanou within the next few months.

Known as the Larnaca Golf and Country Club, the development will comprise an 18-hole golf course, with more than 500 properties consisting of:

• 285 two, three & four bedroom villas;

• 211 one, two & three bedroom apartments;

• 40 ‘hotel-style’ rooms in the complex.

There will also be a clubhouse, a village square, purpose built function rooms and spa facilities. Health treatment will also be available on site with minor cosmetic surgery being performed in the resort’s medical centre.

According to the report, the Med Group has signed an exclusive contract with the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) which will manage the golfing facilities and develop a PGA academy on the site. The agreement with the PGA is exclusive to the Med Group and is the only one allowed on Cyprus. By signing the agreement, the golf course will be able to host Ryder Cup games in the future and is expected to be a major selling point for the resort.

The Group has also retained the services of Morpheus Investments as the master sales agent for the project. The firm’s director, Derek Hatton, said that his company is looking to internationalise its sales process and will seek a limited number of “quality sub-agent partners” for the project in Europe, Dubai and South Africa.

Environmental concerns

George Hassapis, CEO of Hassapis Land Developers and a major shareholder in the Med Group, said that the environmental studies carried out on the project would help it stand out from others in Cyprus and Europe.

“Water is a massive concern for us here in Cyprus so we took proactive steps to make sure that the entire resort would fit in with the area and be sustainable, before being asked to do this by the Environmental Agency (EA),” he explained.

“The construction of a desalination plant was part of the requirement to build the resort and we will also have the capacity to sell water to the government to supply the local community should it be needed. We also had to tell the EA what we would do with the excess salt from the project and spent a lot of money to make sure that the water pipeline didn’t affect the local wildlife. This is very important for our sales partners as environmental concerns in Cyprus and around the world are growing. B spending so much time and money on this, we believe it will aid the sales process. Now we have EA approval, we are waiting on the government to decide the appropriate level of taxes to be levied on the project, then we can proceed.”

Read the full article in the Overseas Property Professional

Check out Eurocypria for flights!!!
As the world recession bites all of us, its always good when someone finds a good deal on flights. We have just managed to find flights to Larnaca from 22nd July for 150 Euros return! So before you book your ticket with another airline try Eurocypria!