LONDON CLARIFIES CYPRUS IS NOT ON THE LIST OF DANGEROUS DESTINATIONS - Filenews 1/4 by Stelios Marathovouniotis
London does not discourage travel to Cyprus, the British High Commissioner for Refugees has confirmed, following British media reports suggesting that the British government is warning against travel to destinations such as Cyprus and Greece.
In a statement to Fileleftheros and In-Cyprus, UNHCR said the Foreign Office updated its travel advisories for all countries in the region, including Cyprus, following the start of military strikes on Iran by the US and Israel. As the British UNHCR pointed out, Cyprus did not rise to a higher alert level and remains at the lowest level of the Foreign Office. Only the wording has changed, due to the deterioration of the situation in the region, he added.
"We advise British nationals to check travel instructions before traveling, but we do not recommend that they avoid traveling to Cyprus," the statement said. "The safety of British nationals in every country and territory is our primary concern when determining our travel guidelines. Our travel advice is constantly being reviewed to ensure they reflect our most recent assessment of the risks faced by British nationals."
According to the published instructions of the Foreign Office: "Our main concern is always the safety of British nationals. We know that our travel guidelines sometimes affect business and international relations. We don't let that affect our instructions."
The Foreign Office updated the travel advice for Cyprus on 5 March, three days after the drone attack on RAF Akrotiri base on 2 March. The briefing added wording that terrorist attacks "cannot be ruled out" and that potential attacks could be directed against anyone, indiscriminately, including tourists. He also noted that regional escalation "creates significant security risks and has led to travel disruptions," with more than 40 flights cancelled over a 24-hour period as airlines cancelled or rerouted routes through the Gulf.
Following this information, the British Cypriot Council sent a letter to London requesting an urgent review of the directives, warning that the wording was already causing flight and holiday cancellations with serious consequences for tourism. The Council argued that the directives do not reflect a balanced assessment of the situation. "Caution is essential, but the risk of terrorist activity is a global phenomenon and is not limited to the region," the letter said.
During his visit to Cyprus on 19 March, UK Secretary of State for Europe Stephen Dauty discussed the issue of the drone attack and its impact on tourism. He expressed understanding for the concerns, stressing that Cyprus remains a safe destination and that British travel guidelines have not changed. "There is no threat to Cyprus," he said, clarifying that these reports are of a preventive nature and are more widely applied in other countries in the region.
To deal with the effects of the attack on tourism, the Cypriot government has announced a support package for the sector, which includes a subsidy of 30% of the salaries of hotel workers for April. In some cases, reservation cancellations reached 40%.
At the same time, the government described the coverage of the situation by the international media as "excessive" and announced an international communication campaign to assure tourists and investors that the island remains a safe destination. The Christodoulides government is trying to reverse the negative image that has been formed, pointing out that most airlines have restored their full routes to and from Cyprus and that bookings are gradually recovering.
Cyprus is not a party to the conflict, President Christodoulides has stressed.
The current Foreign Office travel advice for Cyprus is available on gov.uk.
