Although it was a popular holiday destination for tourists, Cyprus is trying hard to make itself attractive to beachgoers after 30,000 tourists said ‘no’ to it, according to Express.co.uk.
Cyprus stands out as the island with 320 days of sunshine per year. Photo: shutterstock (Archive)
The president of the Cyprus Hoteliers Association, Thanos Michaelides, revealed that the tourism sector would lose thousands of visitors.
A decrease in the number of hotel bookings was noted in May, and industry specialists pointed out that this year could be characterized by a decrease in income for tourism businesses.
He emphasized the need to extend the tourist season and improve hospitality throughout the year, saying this would reduce the seasonality of the labor market, support local businesses and attract more people to careers in tourism. by providing better job stability.
The industry also faces a significant labor shortage. Around 53,000 people are employed in the hospitality sector, which represents 11% of the workforce in this island country.
“This workforce is made up of a diverse range of professionals, from chefs and IT specialists to lawyers and engineers, making this sector an essential part of the national economy and labor market.”Michaelides said.
“A drop of around 150,000 in tourist arrivals”
Still, there are many challenges to face this year, Michaelides said, which may ultimately lead to a weaker performance than 2023.
“The decrease in the hotel occupancy rate can be attributed to several factors”he stated.
“These include the current crisis in the Middle East, ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, a weak economy in the UK, the early celebration of Catholic Easter in March and a reduction in flights to Cyprus – resulting in around 150,000 the number of tourist arrivals“, he added.
In addition, the recent bankruptcy of Germany’s third largest tour operator has exacerbated this situation.
A major challenge is Cyprus’ limited access to the largest potential tourism markets.
“It is well known that our industry is heavily dependent on the British market, while Cyprus’s visibility is low in important Central European markets such as Germany, and almost non-existent in the world’s most important tourist market, the USA“, he concluded.
Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis said in May that the number of tourist arrivals in the first four months of 2024 indicated that the country could meet its targets for this year.
Statistics on arrivals from January to April indicated a 1.7% increase compared to 2023, marking the best four-month period ever recorded for the country’s tourism sector.
By June, arrivals were up 2.4% year-on-year and topped 1.65 million. Arrivals in the first month of summer increased by 5.5% compared to June 2023.
