A number of factors, mainly the ongoing financial crisis and intense competition from newcomers to the global tourism industry, make the coming years a critical period, as it is important for both Greece and Cyprus to remain resourceful and in the spotlight.

Destination Marketing has always been a challenging discipline, one where strategy and creativity are of critical importance. There have been a number of excellent campaigns over the last few years, while advertisers and communication consultants have in some cases even proposed extreme actions by countries and regions! New Zealand was the recipient of such a proposal: change the country’s name and flag, in order to make it more exotic as a destination! Last time I checked, they still haven’t adopted this!

The Web and specifically Social Media are transforming the way countries and regions are marketed. Gone are the times when TV would attract the largest part of a National Tourist Bureau’s budget. Also, the high cost of running Tourist offices in other countries and participating in exhibitions has stimulated the demand for a cost-effective platform.

Social Media are increasingly gaining the attention of Marketeers: they are effective and produce results that can be tracked and acted upon. Travel and vacations are inherently social functions. Prior to the advent of Social Media, friends would discuss and exchange views offline.

Apparently, research data shows that 60% of Europeans are influenced in the selection of holiday destinations, by comments, posts, suggestions that they read on Social Media, such as Facebook and Twitter.

In the case of Facebook, approximately two out of three users globally (in actual numbers, this translates to 700 million people), post pictures and discuss their holidays, while 50% admit that they are influenced by friend’s suggestions and comments, when it comes to picking a holiday destination.

It is also worth mentioning that research indicates that by 2016, social media will be a primary way to generate travel bookings and revenue for half of the travel industry.

Where do the above data leave Mediterranean countries as well as other aspiring tourist destinations?

Social Media should be placed at the center of the Promotional Strategy, as the return on investment will be much higher than any other Medium. Print Media and TV should be used as supportive Media and no more than 30% of the annual budget should be allocated to them.

There are a number of successful case studies of National Tourism organizations and their Social Media campaigns. Two of them are worth mentioning.

First, Tourism Australia’s Facebook fan page has 3.4 million fans already, with 200,000 of then engaging and talking about Australia as a tourist destination every week!

Visit Britain’s Facebook campaign brought a staggering 42,000 new fans to their Facebook page in one day!

Keeping in mind the tremendous growth in people engaging with Facebook and Twitter around the world, which is 1.1 billion and more than 600 million, respectively, makes them the most important Social Media platforms for Greece and Cyprus, for the years to come.

So, time is precious. Engage and Tweet to get more tourists talking and eventually visiting these beautiful countries!

The $612,000 programme, which will be implemented with the support of France and South Sudan’s ministry of agriculture, will target several states for one year, training farmers in the production, storage and marketing of quality seeds and cuttings of staple crops such as maize, cassava, cowpeas and sorghum.

“The importance of seeds to the food security and livelihoods of South Sudan’s farmers and rural communities is very high,” said the head of the Food and Agriculture (FAO) office in Juba, Sue Lautze. “Despite widespread food insecurity, the country is committed to ensuring food security for all, as soon as possible. Seeds are a critical component to realizing this important ambition.”

According to FAO, decades of conflict and displacement have taken their toll on farmers’ access to quality seeds and other planting materials, and eroded their knowledge of seed production techniques, which undermine crop productivity.

Today, more than 90 per cent of South Sudanese farmers still depend on the informal seed system, which is based primarily on saved seeds, social networks, and local markets. Typically, farmers use saved seeds from one season to the next, which lessens the genetic purity of the seed.

The programme will increase the availability and quality of seeds to South Sudan’s most vulnerable farmers in the states of Central Equatoria, Western Equatoria, Lakes, Western Bahr el Ghazal and Northern Bahr el Ghazal. It will also provide assistance to 400 seed producers.

“Through the project, FAO aims to not only reduce the number of households affected by food insecurity through improving the availability and access of locally produced quality seed on the market, but also aims to improve the incomes and capacity of seed producers,” said the Project Officer with FAO South Sudan, Joseph Okidi.

The project will include seed fairs, capacity development for seed enterprises, and training for farmers. It will also increase the amount of land dedicated to quality-seed multiplication, which is currently very limited.

In 2011, FAO and France implemented a similar programme in South Sudan, which led to the production of more than 350 tons of quality seeds and planting materials, and injected some $300,000 into the local economy. With the new programme, the agency is hoping to build on the previous success.