Filenews 3 April 2022 - by Adamos Adamou
The flexibility and agility required by all directions will be important and will largely judge this year in terms of passenger and tourist traffic.
This, among others, was mentioned in the context of the recent STEK conference by the senior director of Aviation Development of Hermes Airports Maria Kouroupi, recording the challenges, but also the opportunities for air transport, in the midst of another year of crisis and revealing at the same time the estimates of the airports' managing company for the passenger traffic of 2022.
According to Ms Kouroupi's presentation, the number of passengers this year is expected to reach 7.6 million (total arrivals and departures, not counting the markets of Russia and Ukraine), compared to 5.1 million. last year. The estimate for this year has removed 1.6 passengers estimated from Russia and Ukraine. The estimate, however, of EUR 7.6 million is not enough. passengers allow cautious optimism that tourist arrivals this year will surpass last year's visits, considering that about 70% of passengers are foreign visitors. It is noted that last year tourist arrivals approached 2 million. (1,936,931), compared to 631,609 in 2020, marking an annual increase of 206.7% and a decrease of 51.3% compared to 2019, when arrivals reached 4 million, recording a historical record (3,976,777 arrivals).
Passenger traffic also recorded a record in 2019, as 11.3 million passengers were handled by the two airports of the country. passengers, a number they reached after a streak of upward trajectory over the past decade. According to Hermes Airports data, from 2013 onwards and despite the challenges that followed, such as the closure of Cyprus Airways and other foreign companies, as well as the referendum on Brexit in 2016, the growth continued and passenger traffic increased cumulatively by more than 60% between 2013-2019. This is as a result of the cooperation between the government, Hermes and other tourism stakeholders, through which air connectivity has been increased and opportunities have been seized. The upward trend ended only in 2020, when the pandemic literally shut down airports, resulting in passenger traffic being limited to 2.3 million, before rising again last year as we mentioned to 5.1 million.
Companies and itineraries this year
The opening up of new markets and the strengthening of air connectivity has meant that the comparison of this year's routes and markets with which Cyprus will be linked this year compared to 2019 is not disappointing, despite the losses resulting from the war in Ukraine. According to Hermes' presentation at the STEK conference, 50 airlines will serve Cyprus this year, following the removal of 13 air carriers from Russia and Ukraine, compared to 70 companies in 2019. Also, 140 routes will be operated from Larnaka and Paphos airports - 80 from Larnaca and 60 from Paphos - compared to 150 in 2019. From this year's itineraries, 33 involving flights to airports in Russia and Ukraine have been removed. Also, without Ukraine and Russia, Cyprus will be linked this year with 38 countries, compared to 39 in 2019.
The above are largely due to the new routes that were added in recent times, 36 in total after the pandemic, such as those of Paphos with Paris and Marseille, Zagreb, etc. and Larnaca among others with Paris, Warsaw and Barcelona, several as a result of the establishment in Cyprus of airline bases and the effort to target more European destinations. An effort with the prospect of continuing, since from the same presentation, a series of destinations present prospects for new flights focusing on the winter season, such as the Scandinavian countries, but also the whole of central Europe for further routes and flights.
The latter can also be seen from data presented by Hermes' senior aviation director on the frequency of flights expected this summer. According to them, 223 flights are expected from England per week, from Greece 100 and the rest of the destinations follow with a double-digit number of weekly flights. Specifically Scandinavia and Germany will have 43 flights per week, Poland 31, Israel 29, Austria 24, Romania 18, Italy 16, France also 16, Switzerland 15 and Hungary 13.
The challenges and the needs
In the many challenges, however, that air transport is expected to face this year, beyond the pandemic, Hermes Airports includes among others the increased cost of fuel, the disposable income of passengers, noting that as a result of the above, companies will continue to "experiment" with their network and that this requires agility and quick decisions. Mrs. Kouroupi also stressed the need to reduce the country's dependence on specific markets, noting that collective action is needed in this direction. He also noted that in the context of exploiting opportunities and prospects that exist, it is necessary to align everyone in the target markets and in new routes, common promotional actions and the need for the operation of the hotel industry to keep pace with air connectivity. He also stressed the need for consistency and stability in the provision of services throughout the island throughout the year as well as the further focus on the development of sustainable experiences for visitors.
Finally, he focused on the development of attention to individual travellers as individual trips are constantly gaining ground, as shown by the processing of data by the CyprusFlightPass made by the airport managing company last summer.
Quality the solution for tourism resilience
The shift in quality, in order for the tourism product to be further shielded due to this year's, as well as the previous, challenges of the sector was the collective message sent by all those who spoke at the STEK conference.
The president of STEK, Akis Vavlitis, explained that the challenges for tourism have been continuous for the last twenty years. He presented statistics that show the high dependence of Cypriot tourism on two markets, but also the limited increase in revenues in relation to the large increase in tourist arrivals in recent years. In order to improve this situation, the president of STEK advocated the need for quality tourism, since only in this way can real added value be created and at the same time the uniqueness and attractiveness of Cyprus can be enhanced.
At the conference "Tourism - The Next Day" that took place last Tuesday, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Yiannis Karousos, also addressed the audience, noting that we must define what quality tourism is. For him, the quality tourist product is what tourists enjoy, businesses prosper and citizens feel proud. We need, he added, to offer visitors to Cyprus a unique tourist experience so that they can be transformed into repeat ones.
On his part, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Savvas Perdios, explained that, despite the continuous crises affecting the sector, the deputy ministry's ultimate goal is for the Cypriot tourism product to be more durable. It should, he added, be imprinted in the mind of every tourist the experience he had during his visit to our country. "The way Cyprus is promoted abroad has now changed. We are not only saying that we are the island of the sun and the sea but also a destination with a rich history, culture and experiences", he noted.
In her own speech, the President of the Greek National Tourism Organization, Angela Gerekou, argued that the solution to such unprecedented conditions is quality tourism. It should, he added, be given the reason to the modern traveller, who should feel like a local in the country he is visiting and leaving to take with him a piece of it.
Gregory Tasios, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers, expressed optimism about the outcome of this "perfect storm" for the sector. He added, however, that effort and planning is needed to create the required resilience. "We need to look at the big picture of sustainable, greener, smarter and more resilient tourism," he said.
