SPYROS SPYROU Vice President & Managing Director, ASG Public Ltd; President of Cyprus Incentives & Meetings Association
Born in Limassol, Cyprus in 1963, Spyros Spyrou is a lumi- nary in Cyprus society, running the island’s leading DMC, Hon- eywell Incentives, renowned business travel agency, Honey- well Travel and the largest car rental company in Cyprus, with a fleet of 1,200 vehicles. He holds degrees in eco-
nomics and business admin- istration from the University of Laverne, California and an MBA from the UK. He became involved in the
family business at the age of 24, which he subsequently took over and expanded from a small car rental company of 60 cars to the biggest on the island. He later added two start-ups, Honeywell Travel and Honeywell Incentives, and now employs 125 people. Spyrou is Vice Chairman of the Limassol Chamber of Com-
merce & Industry and a Board Member of the Limassol Tourism Company. He also served for five years as a Limassol city coun- cillor. Spyrou is married to lawyer Athena Spyrou and has two children, Andreas and Chara.
Who, or what, inspires you? I have always been inspired by the idea of change and by people who bring change. Leadership is a quality that comprises many attributes, but the ability to use this quality to inspire people to believe in working towards changing things for the better is, in my opinion, core. By change, I do not mean revolutionary events – even changing small things is often inconvenient and to some people risky. I admire people who constantly look for opportuni- ties to improve things and to adjust continuously.
Tell us about your early career in Cyprus. I left Cyprus at the age of 20 and finished my studies with an MBA from the UK four years later. When I came back to Cyprus everything seemed very small and very restricted. I missed the opportunities and the open horizons of a big country like the UK, but on the other hand,
I felt that I could do more on my own in Cyprus that would have a big- ger impact on my society and my country. I faced a difficult dilemma – to stay in Cyprus or go back to the UK? Eventually, I think what kept me in Cyprus was the opportunity to do something on my own.
Is the island a challenging market? Cyprus has changed tremendously since my early years in the busi- ness. It is a very developed country with high standards of service and high quality of living. It is still very challenging for business, especially after its EU membership in 2004. Currently, we face some extraordinary challenges with the public finances of the country. In my opinion, it is an ability to adjust to changing times that keeps us competitive in a more open international environment. Especially in tourism, the choices for travellers are now wider and we must improve our ability to offer more for what we ask in return.
Why did you decide to leap from car hire into the travel business and the destination management business? I did not. I actually developed the three businesses in parallel. When I acquired the family car rental business we had a fleet of 60 cars. Now it operates more than 1,200 cars. In travel and in event man- agement, which were my own start-ups, we have earned a leading position that we work hard to maintain and improve.
What is your business philosophy? Vision – take challenges as opportunity. Focus – don’t let small things or obstacles distract you, and work hard with persistence.
How important is sustainable tourism to you? In the medium and long term, only sustainable tourism is worth investing in and working for. We need to make tourism sustainable in all aspects, as our business objectives have to be aligned with our social objectives. Let us not forget that non-sustainable tourism is effectively depriving a destination of its unique identity, which was its unique selling point in the first place.
I felt that in my country I could do more on my own that would have some bigger impact on my society and my country
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What are you doing to maintain and sustain the tourism industry in Limassol and Cyprus? Until some time ago, tourism development and environment and local culture, were considered antagonistic. In the ’90s, we had very rapid tourism development. In the following decade, there were strong objections for further development by those who wanted to protect our environment or our local identity. Now we are in a more mature phase and working on ways to bring the two aspects into alignment. One example is a big project that started in Limassol about five years ago. I was serving in the city council as an elected member, with the aim
of rejuvenating the city’s historic centre, which had been as in decline for decades. The project is almost completed now and we are seeing many small businesses opening. Much of the buzz of the city’s life is moving towards the old centre.
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