Filenews 27 February 2021 - by Adamos Adamou
An agreement with the United Kingdom, in the model of the agreement reached with Israel, to strengthen the tourist flow and bookings from the most important market for Cypriot tourism, is sought by the Cypriot Government.
According to information provided by the 'F', negotiations between the two sides have already begun in this direction and the indications are that a positive outcome will soon emerge. The same information indicates, however, that the agreement to be announced will enter into force later than the corresponding agreement with Israel, which is known to be "activated" on 1 April. However, the estimates are that the announcement of the agreement alone, in essence to provide facilities, to those Britons who have been vaccinated, for trips to Cyprus, will in itself be enough to give further impetus to holiday bookings on the island next summer.
In this context, the government's aim is to get a result soon in the negotiations to notify the agreement as soon as possible. It should be noted, however, that the announcement by the British Prime Minister at the beginning of the week that travel from the UK to abroad could begin from mid-May "awakened" the British mood for travel and significantly increased bookings to tour operators and airlines to several summer destinations, including Cyprus.
As mentioned, the British market is the most important market for Cypriot tourism and "responsible" for about 30% of all arrivals each year to the island. In 2019, which was the best year for tourism, with visits reaching around four million, arrivals from the UK amounted to 1.3 million. The agreement sought with the UK will be identical to that of Israel, according to what we are told. We recall that the agreement that enters into force from 1 April with Israel provides that those Israelis who have been vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency will be able to travel to Cyprus without being subjected to a molecular test in advance, while ensuring that they are not quarantined.
It is worth noting that the possibility of a common approach at European level to 'vaccination certificates' is still visible, as was shown by the contacts made at the European Council yesterday and the day before. On the subject, President Anastasiades, as he said yesterday in his communication, said in a speech, in the context of the teleconference of the members of the European Council, the importance of adopting a common 'vaccination certificate' to facilitate the movement of citizens, while stressing that tourism, which is a key pillar of the Cypriot economy, has suffered a blow as a result of the pandemic.
