Soon after Cyprus tourism received encouraging news that Russian charter flights would resume, war drums in Ukraine got louder, spreading uncertainty over summer bookings.
With tourism dependent on Russian arrivals, stakeholders fear that possible EU sanctions on Russia will make it next to impossible for tourists to travel.
Famagusta hoteliers are on edge, as they are heavily reliant on Russian arrivals.
In comments to the Financial Mirror, the chair of the Cyprus Hotel Association’s Famagusta branch, Doros Takkas, said that hoteliers are concerned over developments, as an armed conflict in Ukraine could take Cyprus down with it.
“We are on the edge of our seats, waiting to see how the EU will react to the situation,” said Takkas,
“The Russian market is the main source of tourists for the region, while last year we had a large number of tourists coming from Ukraine.”
Over 80,000 tourists travelled to the island from Ukraine.
Russian tourists made up 40% of all holiday traffic in the Famagusta district.
The Ukraine market was a new addition, with tour operators estimating it could bring 200,000 to 300,000 tourists every year.
“We have already seen bookings from both Russia and Ukraine put on hold.
“Even if no sanctions are imposed on Russia by the EU, no one expects that the first thing on the minds of the Russian and Ukrainian people would be to book a summer holiday,” said Takkas.
He said the conflict in the region is currently the biggest concern of hoteliers, as they were expecting a fresh start in 2022, with hopes of coming close to 2019’s record 3.9 million tourist arrivals.
Authorities had been upbeat over the prospects of the holiday season, with the island’s two largest markets, Britain and Russia, booking a return.
In comments to the Financial Mirror last week, Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios confirmed Russian authorities had greenlighted resuming charter flights from Russia, facilitating tour operators to promote holiday packages.
In 2021, most of the 500,000 Russian tourists booked seats on scheduled flights, while with Russia’s decision to allow charter flights, that number was expected to reach the 782,000 arrivals recorded in 2019.
Cyprus has connectivity with 16 airports in Russia, including Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
In 2021, 1,936,931 tourists arrived compared to 631,609 in 2020, recording an 206.7% increase and a 51.3% decreased compared to 2019 (3,976,777 arrivals).
