Filenews 18 February 2022 - by Adamos Adamou
Tourism revenues continue to record a bigger increase compared to that of arrivals, confirming the estimates and data for increased expenditure of those who visited Cyprus last year, compared to previous years.
As announced yesterday by the Statistical Service, announcing the results of its Traveller Survey, tourism revenues in November 2021 reached €104.2m, compared to €6.6m. recorded in November 2020 and €95 mil. recorded in November 2019.
For the period January – November 2021, tourism revenues are estimated at €1,459.6m, compared to €382.9m. in the corresponding period of 2020, recording an increase of 281.2% and a decrease of 44.5% compared to the period January – November 2019 (€2,628.4 million).
It is worth noting that the increase in arrivals during the same period, in the first 11 months last year, compared to 2020, when due to the pandemic the tourism industry recorded the worst performance of recent years, had reached 195%, while as mentioned the increase in tourism revenues amounts to 280%.
As far as arrivals are concerned, last year ended with a decrease of 51% compared to 2019 and an increase of 207% compared to 2020.
Best signs for this year
For this year, however, the indications regarding the course of tourism are even more positive, based on the reservations so far and the messages it sends abroad. Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios has already publicly expressed the assessment that 2022, depending on the developments on the pandemic front, will be better than 2021, while the Minister of Transport, Yiannis Karousos, estimated the same, based on the airlines' planning for this year.
The positive prospects for tourism are also reinforced by Russia's recent decision to liberalize virtually all flights to Cyprus from March 1st. Specifically, from the new month, as announced by the Russian authorities, the scheduled flights and the chartered ones will be allowed to our country without any restrictions. It is noted that the decision of the Russians to re-allow charter flights to Cyprus, after two years suspended due to the pandemic, follows two consecutive trips of the Deputy Minister of Tourism to Moscow. It is also worth noting that charter flights from Russia are allowed only to three other countries except Cyprus.
THE PROBLEM OF THE SHORTAGE OF LABOUR
The increased bookings, however, and the positive messages about tourism satisfy the industry but also cause a headache at the same time, since hoteliers continue to face the problem of lack of staff that is expected, however, with a series of moves planned by the Ministry of Labour to at least be mitigated. As "F" has already wrote, these moves include the intention of the Ministry of Labour to expand the professions in which foreign students who are already in the country will be able to work, but also to examine all requests for employment of foreign personnel if justified.
