Cyprus looks to its past for economic reboot
LONDON (AP) -- As it grapples with the prospect of years of economic pain, Cyprus will try to draw strength from its not-so-distant experience of invasion - and the fact a whole generation knows what it means to rebuild from scratch.
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Any inspiration will be badly needed on the small east Mediterranean island nation of under a million people, as even the most optimistic forecasters predict years of recession and sky-high unemployment.
In many ways, the challenge facing Cyprus now following an international bailout that effectively wipes out a hefty chunk of the banking sector is more daunting than the events of 1974 when the island was split into an internationally recognized, Greek-speaking south and a breakaway Turkish north, following Turkey's invasion in the wake of an attempted coup by supporters of union with Greece.
The country's room for maneuver is limited, given that it has already largely exhausted the potential for development from a primarily agricultural state.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_CYPRUS_LESSONS_FROM_1974?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-29-04-28-29
They had in the past a very strong tourist industry. Joining the Euro helped start to kill that as it did with Spain too.
Cyprus crisis means bargains for British holidaymakers, say tour operators.
The financial crisis battering Cyprus will result in holiday bargains for Brits, according to one of the biggest independent tour operators specialising in the Mediterranean island.
But hotel bookings in the run-up to the crucial Easter period, when Cyprus is usually one of the most popular spring sun destinations for British holidaymakers, have been dismal for the crisis-hit island.
According to Lastminute.com, bookings to Cyprus on its site plummeted by 75% last week compared with last year as fears grew that travellers would be trapped without access to cash – although bookings began to recover this week.
One of the island's biggest independent tour operators is now forecasting a bonanza for British holidaymakers, as hotels slash prices to fill rooms left empty by Russian and German tourists shunning the island's beaches in the year ahead.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/28/cyprus-crisis-bargain-holidays