Manchester United fans travelling to Cyprus for their team’s game against Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League group have taken up almost every available room in the capital’s hotels.
As confirmed by the Cyprus Hotel Association, Nicosia hotels are turning down accommodation requests, as they are fully booked with United fans ahead of Thursday night’s game at the GSP Stadium in the capital.
Close to 2,000 Manchester United fans have already booked a room at a Nicosia hotel.
Officially, as United had announced, the club was given 1,100 tickets, equal to 5% of the stadium’s 22,300 capacity.
It is understood that some fans have acquired or will be looking to buy a ticket to sit amongst home supporters.
Omonia Nicosia said there were some 4,000 tickets available on Tuesday afternoon.
CHA Director General Philokypros Rousounides said that although a couple of nights of full capacity will not change much on the balance sheets of Nicosia hotels, hoteliers are more than happy.
“Having a couple of thousand tourists coming towards the end of the season goes a long way in promoting the island as an all-year-round destination,” said Rousounides.
He said tourists, such as the United fans coming from the UK, will have a firsthand experience that a Cyprus holiday does not end with the coming of Autumn.
“Just the other day, we sweltered under 40 degrees Celsius. These people will be carrying their experiences from a short but enjoyable getaway in an off-season month”.
The Financial Mirror has been informed that Manchester United’s squad will be the first guests at the newly launched Radisson Beach Resort, Larnaca’s newest luxury hotel.
United fans will be looking to see their team bounce back from an embarrassing 6-3 defeat from arch-rivals Manchester City.
They are currently sixth in the Premier League and second in the Europa League D Group with one win off Moldavian Sheriff Tiraspol.
Omonia are fourth in the Cyprus league, three points from the top.
Their European campaign got off to a bad start after losing 3-0 at home to Sheriff Tiraspol.
The Greens almost walked away with a draw from Real Sociedad in Spain; after putting up a good fight, the game was decided by a late goal to make it 2-1.
