Cyprus Mail 25 February 2021 - by Jonathan Shkurko
The Hoteliers Association is asking the government to bring forward implementation of an agreement with Israel facilitating travel between the two countries so as to capitalise on increased interest among Israeli holidaymakers during Passover.
The agreement will allow for travel between the two countries without the need for quarantine or prior PCR tests for visitors who have been vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the European Medicine Association (EMA).
It is due to come into effect in April. Passover week this year starts on March 27 and ends on April 4.
“We are asking for the deal to come into force earlier, ideally at the beginning of March, so hoteliers can prepare the reopening of their businesses two weeks before the arrival of tourists from Israel,” the Director General of the Hoteliers Association Philokypros Roussounides told Cyprus Mail.
He explained that the actual spike in interest from the Israeli market was mainly for the end of March.
“That’s why it would be best to anticipate the start of the deal to the beginning of March. That way, we would have two weeks to get ready and be prepared for a potential increase in the number of visitors.”
In order be extra-careful, Cyprus could test all arrivals from Israel at the airports so as to be 100 per cent sure that the country remains safe, Roussounides added.
With 300,000 arrivals on the island, Israel represented the third biggest tourism market in 2019, behind the UK and Russia, for which Roussouides also urged the government to reach a deal, similar to the one struck with Israel.
However, last Saturday, the Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios told the Cyprus Mail that a similar deal with the UK and Russia is not feasible at the moment.
Finally, Roussounides called on the government to extend the financial support of people working in the tourism industry to June, instead of interrupting it in March as it was scheduled.
“An extension of the financial support would help us reopen the hotels in the best possible way and it would also prevent many layoffs,” Roussounides concluded.
