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Tourist arrivals to reach 75% of 2019 record

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Tourist arrivals will reach 70%-75% of the levels welcomed in 2019 when a record 3.97 million visitors came, the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (ACTE) estimates.

They said hotel occupancy for July and August is around 70%-90%, with higher occupancy levels recorded in Paphos.

Chrisemily Psilogeni, General Manager of ACTE, said the situation is highly volatile; therefore, predictions are risky.

Based on arrivals recorded so far, reaching 1.2 million in June, down by 25% from 2019, Cyprus airports expect total passenger traffic of 8.7 million for 2022.

It is 78% of 2019 passenger traffic, “a forecast of 70%-75% of 2019 arrivals may be indicative for this year,” Psilogeni said.

She said for July and August, the average occupancy of hotel units is estimated to range between 70%-90%.

Occupancy differs by district and hotel category, with Paphos having higher occupancy levels, traditionally a top choice for British tourists, as the UK is Cyprus’ biggest tourism market.

Most hotel guests are tourists from the UK, Israel, Germany, Poland, Scandinavia, Greece, France, and Austria.

Psilogeni said that many Cypriots have chosen to spend their holidays on the island this summer due to the increased air ticket prices and the problems with flight delays and cancellations at international airports.

In 2023, Psilogeni projects will be a difficult year, although it is still early to say.

“We believe that 2023 will also be a particularly difficult year, mainly due to the prices of air tickets which may increase further; if the upcoming EU Fit for 55 Package is also taken into account, it will significantly affect us as an island destination, whose tourism is almost completely dependent on air connectivity”.

“That is why we welcome the actions of the Minister of Transport Yannis Karousos to mitigate the impact on the country from the specific development.

“At the same time, the lack of staff is also a cause for concern, resulting in long delays and cancellations at many important airports for Cyprus, inflation will also affect potential tourists.”