Ayia Napa, Cyprus. Hoteliers in Ayia Napa, Protaras and Larnaca are warning of a sharp slowdown in bookings ahead of the new tourism season, as the war in the Middle East continues to weigh on travel demand.
Famagusta district sees spring cancellations and weaker reservations
According to Politis, hotel operators in the Famagusta district said cancellations are now affecting mainly April and May, while new reservations have weakened as most tourist accommodation prepares to reopen by the end of March or early April.
Famagusta Hoteliers Association (Pasyxe) president Panayiotis Constantinou told the Cypriot daily that concerns are increasingly focused on the lack of new bookings from European markets, in addition to cancellations.
He said most summer reservations had so far remained largely intact, with only isolated cancellations reported for the months ahead, but warned that hotels were expected to resume operations with significantly lower occupancy than initially hoped.
Hoteliers renew calls for targeted state support
Pasyxe Famagusta renewed calls for targeted state support, including an extension of unemployment benefit payments until the end of April for hotel staff who will not be taken back immediately as units reopen.
Larnaca reports high cancellation rate and sharp drop in new bookings
Larnaca’s hotel sector is facing similar pressure. Marios Polyviou, president of the local hoteliers’ association, told Politis that cancellations in the city and district had reached around 35 per cent, while new bookings were running at about one-tenth of the level recorded in the same period last year.
He said the cancellations were so far concentrated in April, with no notable losses yet for the summer season, but added that the main concern was the near standstill in new reservations.
Polyviou said Larnaca was being affected more sharply because Israel has been one of its most important source markets, at times ranking first for the district.
He described the situation as manageable for now, and said other Mediterranean destinations, including Spain, Greece and Turkey, were also seeing weaker booking activity as travellers waited to see how events in the region unfold.
How do you expect the slowdown in bookings to affect travel plans for Cyprus this spring?
