CYPRUS: 2015 tourist season to close on a positive note

Dinos Kakkouras, President of the Association of Travel Agents (ACTA, has said that those involved in the travel industry believe that this year’s tourist season is set to close on a positive note.

Kakkouras said that initial estimates of a 25% drop in tourist arrivals from Russia seem to have been overturned in that the reduction is now estimated to be around 20%, with an anticipated further decline.
In addition to this, there is a significant increase in the number of tourists mainly from the UK, German and Swedish markets but also from France, Holland, Poland, Israel and Greece – in spite of the country’s problems – which has given the tourist industry a boost.
“Results show that there was a slight drop of 1.5%, which is reasonable because June is one of the strongest months of the Russian market. The encouraging sign is that the drop in the number of Russian tourists is not as big as originally estimated and this seems to be covered by other markets, such as England and Germany,” he said.
“The overall decline from the Russian market is around 20%, which is below the 25% originally estimated. According to all indications, there may even be a further reduction. We hope the year will end on a positive note,” he added.
Instability in the region, in countries competing with Cyprus, has led tour operators to redirect tourists to the island because it is a safe destination, he explained.
However, he acknowledged that tourists spend less money than they used while on holiday on the island.