Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus’ tourism sector is showing signs of stabilisation after the United States and the United Kingdom revised their travel advisories for the island, a move officials and industry representatives said is helping restore confidence in Cyprus as a safe destination.
Deputy Tourism Minister Costas Koumis said the sector is moving towards a period of normalisation after months of disruption linked to regional tensions.
Official response
Speaking to CyBC, Koumis described the revision as a positive development. He said the British market has long been Cyprus’ largest source of tourists, although arrivals from the United Kingdom recorded a significant decline in the first four months of the year because of developments in Akrotiri.
He added that May ended with only a very small decrease in passenger traffic and said he was confident the sector is now on a more stable path.
Industry reaction
The revision of the travel advisories was also welcomed by tourism stakeholders, although industry figures remain cautious over how quickly the change will affect bookings.
Association of Cyprus Travel and Tourism Agents president Charis Papacharalambous said Cyprus’ return to the normal level of travel guidance by the United States and Britain was a positive development that could help limit the losses recorded so far this tourist season.
Impact on arrivals
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Papacharalambous said the downgrade of Cyprus’ travel guidance to level 1 by both countries had helped restore confidence in the destination, although the impact of the previous warnings had already been felt.
He said three months had already been lost, but added that during that period the country’s image had, more or less, been restored.
Referring to the latest figures on tourist arrivals, Papacharalambous said the decline was gradually easing and expressed the view that this trend would continue until the end of the season.