Filenews 17 August 2021 - by Adamos Adamou
A pleasant dissonance in the challenges faced by the tourism industry in the last year and a half at least due to the pandemic was the traffic of the last weekend in hotels, as due to the Fifteenth of August the occupancy of the units recorded a significant increase compared to the previous days and months.
As the general manager of PASYXE, Filokypros Rousounidis, mentioned to "F" at the weekend, the average occupancy in hotel units all over Cyprus reached 65% and in some cases to 75% a development that is considered satisfactory, taking into account that the average occupancy
in July, when there was increased traffic compared to last year, amounted to about 25% to 30%.There were hotels that were full, especially on the beach front, but also hotels that did not do so well, although slightly better than last year. However, according to him, the Fifteenth of August himself was an oasis in the ocean of challenges opened by the pandemic and in no way reflects the image of the tourism industry at this time that remains marginal and difficult.
Asked how he estimates that the rest of August will move, Mr. Rousounidis expressed cautious optimism due to the last minute bookings that are being strengthened due to the slight improvement of our epidemiological picture, as he said, but clarified that fullness observed in the Fifteenth of August is not expected. However, he noted, tourist flow from abroad may increase as there is a slight increase in bookings which "God willing and pandemic allowing will be able to lengthen the season until October." The General Secretary of PASYXE also mentioned regarding last weekend's move that the hotels worked with both foreign tourists and our compatriots since, as he said, several residents of Cyprus made use of the subsidized vacation plans of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.
Travel to Greece
However, the programme of subsidized summer holidays of the Deputy Ministry, which was applied as an incentive to support vaccinations, did not leave all Cypriots in Cyprus, since travel abroad began in the last two months as well as overnight stays in hotels. According to the honorary president of the Association of Travel Agents of Cyprus (ACTA) Akis Kelepesisis, several residents of Cyprus chose to vacation abroad but their preferences are limited to nearby destinations with Greece holding the lead in terms of the choices of our compatriots.
Travel to Greece, said Mr. Kelepesis, recorded a triple-digit increase, at least compared to last year, which may reach 150%, but it seems that travel abroad is almost exhausted in this market, noting, however, that in addition to travel to Greece and the Greek islands, there is also demand for cruises starting from Limassol. He estimated that travel in July and August will record an increase compared to last year and estimated that they will amount to 40 to 45% of the trips made in the same months in 2019. It is worth noting that during the two months of July – August, with the exception of last year, more than 300,000 trips abroad are made by residents of Cyprus, the majority of which are for recreational purposes.
In 2019, during the above period, 340,000 trips were made abroad, in 2018 about 348,000 and in 2017 318,000.
Decrease of 43.1% tourist arrivals in Cyprus from Russia
The flow of tourists from Russia to Cyprus in the first half of 2021 decreased by 43.1%, compared to the same period in 2019, i.e. towards the pandemic, according to data released by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.
As reported in a relevant news report of the Russian news agency Tass, in the first half of 2021 Cyprus was visited by 172,300 people from Russia. It is also reported that the flow of tourists from Russia abroad decreased in the first half of 2021.
According to the Association in the first half of 2021, almost half of the tourist trips (45.3%) were made to Turkey, which was visited by 806,200 people from Russia. Meanwhile, Russia's coronavirus crisis centre has announced that from August 27, the number of scheduled flights from Russia to Hungary, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will increase.
As mentioned, the number of flights from Moscow to Larnaca and Paphos will reach seven every week.
