In recent years, Cyprus has increasingly been promoting the idea of transforming the country into a haven for IT. I recently wrote about why it’s still far from being an IT Mecca, and today I’ll go into more detail about why this seemingly sound initiative continues to stall.
Many expat IT professionals dream of moving the country forward into the future and breaking its dependency on tourism. They understand that relying solely on tourism isn’t sustainable. The “Mediterranean laziness” mindset often leads to maximizing profits from tourists with minimal investment, but this approach can’t last forever. Most Cypriot hotels lag 20–30 years behind their continental counterparts in terms of room quality for the same star rating. While 5-star hotels are generally decent, their prices are comparable to the cost of a flight to the moon.
However, while Cypriots have at least some understanding of tourism (having relied on it for so long), their grasp of IT is far worse. Add to this the “laziness factor,” where government offices operate for just a few hours a day (and not all of them even then). Requests for refunds of overpaid taxes can take 7–8 years to process (I’m not exaggerating), and unemployment benefits will likely be issued only after you’ve starved to death—applications take a minimum of four months to process from the time you lose your job.
Just today, an article was published about how “soon, very soon” e-government (akin to Russia’s Gosuslugi) will be up and running, bringing happiness to all. As a seasoned resident of Cyprus, I’ve long stopped believing in such promises. The article itself listed several factors that will hinder this progress, the main one being the population’s significant lag in digital skills compared to other countries. According to the article, Cyprus ranks 4th from the bottom (!!) among all European countries in terms of digital literacy. Nearly half the population has little knowledge of how to work with digital solutions, and 10% of people see the internet at best once a quarter!
This comes as no surprise to anyone who’s lived on the island for at least half a year. The lack of digital understanding is evident everywhere. I can provide several examples that, at first, are infuriating but, over time, you learn to accept more calmly. However, until a digital transformation happens in people’s minds, no lofty declarations or ambitious goals will change the situation. Now, onto the examples.
- I’ve written many times about how most Cypriots don’t know how to use navigation apps. Worse, they have little concept of modern maps:
- Address conventions here aren’t what we’re used to. It’s easier for someone to give you directions based on landmarks known only to Cypriots: “Turn left at the Coca-Cola billboard, then go past Uncle Christos’ shop, and at <any name here> Junction, turn left,” and so on. I’ve shared examples like this multiple times. Tell you a simple address or even share a geolocation pin? That’s not the Cypriot way.
- Calling a technician to fix or deliver something to your village is another adventure. Since they may not know the village as well as their “Uncle Christos and Yuri Gagarin Junction,” typical navigation breaks down. You send them your location via Google Maps or a shared geolocation pin. They say they’ve got it. Then, a joyful phone call: “I can’t see your house; wave to me!” And you look out to find nothing but empty fields to the horizon. After some back-and-forth, it turns out they’ve driven to an entirely different village—despite having a precise geolocation!
- The website for the Aquarium, a popular tourist spot, is a rare step forward—having a website at all is progress. Seven years ago, very few establishments had one. But the “How to Find Us” section? Forget a map link or an embedded Google Maps frame. Instead, you get a list of bus routes that stop near the park. No stop names, just routes and a link to the transport company’s timetable. Since public transport on Cyprus is poorly developed, most people drive their own cars. So, for the majority, this info is useless. The only way to figure out how to get there is to find a tiny written address, input it into Google Maps, and hope it pinpoints the location.
- My favorite example: You receive an email—or better, a business card—that says, “We’re on Facebook! Join our group!” Great, friends! I’d be happy to—if you’d actually provide a link to the group! Instead, you’re left to search the internet for who-knows-what. And as for QR codes? It seems no one here has informed Cypriots that they exist.
These are just a few examples.
And you talk about an IT country. Until people at a basic level understand what it means to live in the digital age, all attempts to turn the island into an IT haven will resemble a cargo cult: “Oh, we need to create IT services? Perfect, we’ve made a website—it has a phone number to call from 10:00 to 11:00 every third Monday of the month!”
And so, life goes on.
