Filenews 4 September 2023 - by Dora Christodoulou
Although we have now entered autumn, Paphos continues to enjoy summer visitation.
The occupancy recorded in the tourist units, the reservations already confirmed for this month, but also the messages from the major tour operators of the United Kingdom, give the mark of a two-month period that will be the extension of the great summer season we experienced this year.
Things, hotel officials stressed yesterday to "F", become even more optimistic for Pafos since the element of local tourism has now entered the equation for good. The emergence of Pafos in recent years as an important destination for local holidaymakers, has resulted in more and more people in the area, raising the turnover of businesses, but mainly the expectations for the implementation of the goal of the directors of the tourism industry to transform Pafos into a year-round destination.
Similarly significant with the traffic in hotels and other tourist accommodation, traffic is forecast in September and October in the city's leisure centers, where traffic is already at very good levels, according to businessmen in the coastal area.
An additional element that causes enthusiasm to the operators of the tourist industry of the province, is the fact that having confirmed this summer that it is the most popular tourist destination in Cyprus for the British, Pafos seems to consolidate its important position in the preferences of several Central European countries which a few years ago recorded almost negligible interconnection with the province.
Countries such as Poland, Hungary, Austria, but also countries of the south such as France and Italy, are increasingly acquiring a key role in the tourist landscape of the province and even, unlike most other destinations, with a steady flow of visitors throughout the year and not only in summer.
Ryanair's flight schedule is the reason for this surge in visitors from the central region of the old continent, since the giant of low cost carriers connects Paphos with dozens of airports in these countries all year round. A factor that, as the tourist operators of Pafos point out, has made these countries an important factor for the year-round tourist flow to Paphos.
Indicatively, arrivals from the Polish market alone have increased in recent years from 80 thousand in 2019, to 120 thousand last year and even higher this year, given that in the winter season 2022-2023 there are at least 12 flights per week with Ryanair from five Polish airports, while an enhanced flight schedule was announced this summer season with more than 14 flights per week from six Polish airports.
