Cyprus sees rise in Russia tourism, UK pick-up

The 2014 tourist season will see an increase in markets such as Russia, while traditional markets such as Great Britain will reverse their downward trend, a confident President Nicos Anastasiades told the annual general meeting of the Cyprus Hoteliers Association.
Tourism constitutes the driving force for the Cypriot economy and will greatly contribute to its recovery, Anastasiades said, adding that the sector “constitutes a basic priority for the government and will remain as such.”
Reflecting on 2013, Anastasiades said it was a good year for tourism whose performance supported the economy in a very difficult time.
In 2013, Cyprus attracted a total of 2,405,390 tourists, assisting the economy to avoid a deep plunge despite gloomy forecast for a recession and referred to the efforts to launch new air routes to and from Cyprus by eight international airlines.
“These efforts, in parallel with the open skies policy, will continue with the aim to increase tourist arrivals,” he said.
Furthermore, Anastasiades noted that the government will continue targeted actions to upgrade, enrich and diversify the Cyprus tourist product, such as the licensing of an integrated casino resort, adding that the legal framework will be submitted to Parliament in the coming weeks.