Cyprus Tourism trying to cover gap from XL Airways closure

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) is focusing on two actions to cover the gap left by XL Airways, one of the major British airlines, which closed down.

Senior CTO officer Christos Moustras told CNA that XL Airways, which closed down, was scheduled to transport some 10,000 tourists to Cyprus by the end of October.

He noted that the total number of British tourists during the period from May to October 2008 through XL Airways was 70,000.

Moustras said the CTO has already begun contacting various tour operators and airlines to determine whether there are available seats for Cyprus until the end of October.

The tourists who had booked organised tours for Cyprus are covered by British law and will either be arriving with other arrangements or will get a refund.

Moustras said the aim is for the 10,000 tourists to travel to Cyprus but noted that it was up to the clients themselves.

He added that the main issue was tourist arrivals for 2009 and the gap left in meeting the demand of airline tickets from Britain, since it hold the first place in tourist arrivals in Cyprus, with 1.28 million in 2007, according to CTO data.

''This is a huge number of seats,'' Moustras said, adding however that Cyprus is served by various other companies, such as Cyprus Airways, Eurocypria, British Airways, Monarch, EasyJet and Jettwo, as well as charter flights by major organisers, such as Thomas Cook and TUI.

Moustras noted that contacts will be made during the World Travel Market exhibition in London in November. He said the CTO participates in the exhibition, adding that ''we will act soon and in time to see what can be done with the gap left by XL.''

General Director of the Association of Cyprus Tourist Agents (ACTA) Thasos Katsourides told CNA that the closing down of airlines with flights to Cyprus affects the island's tourism, creating a gap in the supply of tickets to Cyprus.