Cyprus tourism decline seen in turnover data

The 9.5% drop in Cyprus tourist arrivals in the second quarter has been reflected in figures for accommodation services (hotels), where the Statistical Service reported a decline in turnover of 12.6% over the year earlier in the period April-June 2009.
The broader sector of accommodation and food service activities (hotels and restaurants) recorded a milder decrease of 5.5%, thanks mainly to a 1% increase in the sector of food and beverage services.
Another growing sector was telecommunications, which increased by 3.5%.
The Statistical Service also reported a turnover decrease of 28.2% in the sector of travel agencies and a decrease of 11.7% for information services.
Compared to the corresponding period of 2008, the sectors of architectural and engineering activities and legal and accounting activities recorded a more modest decrease of 2.6% and 2.0% respectively.
A fall of 13.9 % was recorded on the sector of computer programming and related activities.