Filenews 13 June 2023 - by Adamos Adamou
Positive signs for tourism from increased traffic at airports
Indications that the flow of tourists will be increased in May, as well as the trips of Cypriots abroad, give the latest data on passenger traffic, as passengers exceeded not only the corresponding number last year but also the barrier of one million. Specifically, the latest data from Hermes Airports raise passenger traffic, departures and arrivals from the two airports of the country, to 1,094,073 passengers last month, compared to 884,559 passengers in May 2022.
Passenger traffic in May, in fact, is approaching that of the record year of 2019, when for the first time in the history of Cypriot airports passengers exceeded 11 million. Specifically, compared to May 2019, when passenger traffic at Larnaka and Pafos airports amounted to 1,129,518 passengers, in the same month this year only a small decrease of approximately 3.5% is recorded. However, due to the thematic performance recorded in the first months of this year, for the first five months passenger traffic appears increased not only compared to last year but also compared to 2019!
Specifically, in the period January – May this year, 3,585,520 passengers were transported to and from Pafos and Larnaka airports, compared to 2,471,836 in the first five months of 2022 and compared to 3,393,862 in the same period of 2019. In summary, in the first five months of this year, the two airports handled one million more passengers with passenger traffic recording an annual increase of 45%. Compared to 2019, passenger traffic in the first five months recorded a small increase of 5.6%. The summer season, however, is expected to be the same as well... This year, as Hermes Airports announced, there will be a connection between the country and 55 airlines, with a total of 155 routes, including 12 new ones.
Hermes Airports' positive data for the first five months are expected to be reflected in the data on tourist arrivals that the Statistical Service will announce this week for May. We remind you that in the first four months, tourist arrivals amounted to 736.629 compared to 534.040 in the corresponding period of 2022, recording an increase of 37,9%.
