Aim is for 6 mln holidaymakers in 2030
Arrivals of tourists reached a new monthly record of 418,732 in May compared to 364,943 in May 2016, recording an increase of 14.7%, according to the monthly Passengers Survey conducted by the statistical service Cystat.
Officials believe Cyprus is on track to meeting and even passing the 2016 record arrivals figure of 3.2 mln.
For the period of January – May period, Cystat said arrivals of tourists totalled 990,756 compared to 842,126 in the corresponding period of 2016, recording an increase of 17.6% and outnumbering the total arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the first five months of the year.
Tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom increased by 19.5% in May compared to a year earlier, while a marginal increase of 0.3% was recorded for tourists from Russia. Increases were also recorded from other important tourist markets, such as Germany (54.9%) and Israel (92.9%). Contrary to that, a decrease of 6.4% in tourist arrivals was recorded from Greece.
The United Kingdom and Russia constitute the main sources of tourism for Cyprus for May, with proportions of 37.0% and 25.8%, respectively, while arrivals from Germany comprise 5.0% and from Israel 4.9% of total arrivals.
For a percentage of 84.5% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in May was “holidays”, for 8.7% “visit to friends and relatives” and for 6.6% “business”.
Men comprise 45.1% of tourists and women 54.9%, whilst most of the tourists belonged to the age group of 20-44 years.
In a separate statement, Cystat said that the number of Cyprus residents who travelled abroad dropped marginally in May compared to a year before to 102,068.
Meanwhile, in his address to the annual general meeting of the Cyprus Hotel Association (Pasyxe), President Nicos Anastasiades said that discussions on a national strategy for tourism will commence in July, with an ambitious plan to transform Cyprus into an all-year tourist destination, attracting over 6 million visitors a year by 2030.
In his speech, Anastasiades said that in the next 13 years, Cyprus should be attracting tourists throughout the year and of the 6 mln or more that would visit, 4.8 mln of them would be quality tourists.
The national strategy would create a concrete plan, budget and deadlines on how this goal would be achieved, which if successful, would boost businesses, the environment and the economy, he said.
Investments across the island such as the Ayia Napa and Paralimni marinas, the Larnaca port and marina developments as well as the casino in Limassol all help improve the quality of tourism Cyprus has to offer, Anastasiades added.
Without going into detail, he said a new, modern, regulatory framework on hotel operations is currently at the legal service which when implemented will rid the hotel industry of cumbersome bureaucratic procedures.
Pasyxe chairman Haris Loizides, however, said that vigilance is needed and despite investing some 450 mln euros in building new hotels and refurbishing old ones, Cyprus still needed to improve on infrastructure and beaches.
He questioned whether all the marinas, golf courses and other large investments were enough to guarantee success if other competing destinations were to become politically stable.
However, he added that the creation of Tourism Under-Secretariat will also help streamline regulations, many of which fall under three different ministries at the moment.
Loizides noted winter tourism is on the up where in 2016, there was a 23% increase compared to the previous year and a 54% increase compared to 2014.
Cyprus had a record year in 2016 with 3.2 million visitors. In May this year alone, there were 419,000 arrivals, Cyprus Tourism Organisation chairman Angelos Loizou said, breaking yet another record.
Additionally, tourists are spending more, thus indicating 2017 can be another great year for tourism, Loizou said.
Based on figures by the World Tourism Organisation for 2016, Cyprus had double the percentage increase in tourists compared to Spain, Croatia and Malta, four times more than Greece and five times that of Italy, Loizou added.
People in the industry should also not forget ‘internal tourism’ and that Cypriots are also an important clientele, he added, whilst also telling hoteliers they should invest more on human capital and try do away with seasonal employment.
The importance of an undersecretary of tourism was highlighted with Anastasiades saying the person who filled the role would evaluate a Pasyxe request on creating a Hotel Chamber of Commerce.
