Filenews 7 June 2022 - by Adamos Adamou
The tourist opening to Saudi Arabia is being postponed, as Cyprus Airways' direct flights from Larnaca to Jeddah have been cancelled, to the dismay of many stakeholders in the industry.
Based on the initial planning, Cyprus Airways flights from Larnaca to Jeddah were to be conducted every Wednesday and Saturday from the end of May until the beginning of September and would be a kind of test for the development of the Saudi market, in which the Deputy Ministry of Tourism invests a lot. According to a representative of the airline, the cancellation of the flight schedule to Saudi Arabia is due to a number of reasons, the most important of which is the delay in the delivery of the third aircraft that the company was expecting. He, however, assured that Saudi Arabia remains in Cyprus Airways' strategy.
Speaking to "F", the Deputy Minister of Tourism did not hide his disappointment for the reversal that occurred in the start of flights to Saudi Arabia, expressing however the belief that there will be itineraries this year to this market from Cyprus, in the context of the tourism strategy for the opening of new markets. Mr. Perdios said that the opening of the market remains in the strategy of the deputy ministry, which continues the promotion and advertising in Saudi Arabia. He revealed, in fact, that for the purposes of visas – visa issuance – with the actions of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, both the Cypriot Embassy in Riyadh and the office of our consul in Jeddah have been reinforced in personnel. At the same time, contacts with the country's tour operators continue, as the interest from hoteliers in Cyprus and the agents of our country is warm.
Therefore, Mr. Perdios expressed the certainty that as soon as the direct flights start, either from Cyprus Airways or from another company - as there is interest from others for this route - there will be an immediate response. The secretary of state's optimism and estimates that there will eventually be an opening of the market are reinforced by the recent announcements made by Tus Airways that in the autumn he will start direct flights to Saudi Arabia, both to Jeddah and to Riyadh, the capital of the country of 35 million. We recall, however, that the Deputy Minister of Tourism in his previous statements had estimated that Jeddah has a better chance of attracting tourists, because of its smaller distance to Cyprus. He also said that the demand for a direct flight to Cyprus is greater than Jeddah, which is itself a tourist city and destination and which due to its proximity to our country is ideal for short breaks, i.e. for short vacation trips, short weekend getaways, small conferences for a few days, but also for the exploitation of the cruise sector. Mr. Perdios also mentioned that due to the proximity of Jeddah to Cyprus, but also the fact that it is also a tourist destination, there will be interest in this route from the residents of Cyprus.
