TOURISM - THE EXPECTED START OF FLIGHTS FROM ISRAEL IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR - Filenews 20/4
Flights from Israel are expected to start next week and this is an "unexpected breath" for tourism, says Christos Angelides, General Manager of the Pancyprian Hoteliers Association (PASYXE).
"Following the recent ceasefire agreed by the US and Iran, air flights to Cyprus from Israel are expected to start next week, in larger numbers than we have had so far," he said. These, he continued, "are very good news and we hope they will be maintained, because it is an unexpected breath for our tourism, if one takes into account that Israel is the second country from which Cyprus receives tourists."
Minus Protaras
Asked about the occupancy rates of hotels in all the cities of free Cyprus and especially in the province of Famagusta, which is the pre-eminent tourist province of the country, Mr. Angelides replied that "from the surveys we carry out as PASYXE, but also from oral information we receive on a daily basis, April in Protaras is much lower than the rest of the areas of Cyprus". Reduced occupancy rates "we see that there will also be in the first 15 days of May in Protaras, while the rest of the provinces are at a better stage than that of the province of Famagusta", he noted.
In another question, the General Director of PASYXE replied that "all our efforts are being made not to lose the five months from June to the end of October, because these are the months when the very high occupancy rates of hotels and the increased inflows of tourists and income for the country are recorded".
Asked about the efforts made by the Government and other tourism operators, to convince the travel public that Cyprus is a safe tourist destination, Mr. Angelides replied that "this is the effort made by the Government, the Ministries but also the hotel companies and travel agents as well as friendly to our country, agents in different countries". This effort, he noted, "must continue until the end of the year because the idea that Cyprus is a safe and attractive tourist destination needs to remain for a long time whether we start to have tourist flows or we do very well in this sector".
He explained that "when a country is stigmatized with something negative, then it takes time for public trust to be restored. One of our main narratives was and still is, the fact that Cyprus, in addition to being an attractive tourist destination, was also very safe, something that we must protect as the apple of our eye," he said.
He also noted that "throughout the year we must continue our efforts to convince that Cyprus is a safe country".
Time to diversify
As Mr. Angelidis said, "perhaps now the time has come to deal with what we have been saying for years, that is, the diversification of our tourism product, adding various interests, apart from the sun and the sea".
He stressed that "we should finally look into the issue and find those elements that are less vulnerable to the traveling public, such as sports, including cycling, football and mountaineering."
He also mentioned that despite the fact that the first months of the year went very well, with the conduct of various sports, we also had reductions in the arrivals of football teams arriving in Cyprus for training. "We also believe that we should move several sporting events and events from November to next March, in order to fill gaps that may have been created all this time, but also to highlight our country as a center of sports activities," he noted.
Christos Angelides referred, among other things, to the Limassol and Larnaca Marathons and noted that the specific events - which we know the time of their holding - must seek to become global events.
"We could also move for the entire month of November, the Wine Festival that takes place at the end of September and the beginning of October in Limassol and include various other related wine products, i.e. soutzoukos, zivania, palouzes and others," he added.
November could, he continued, "become the month of Cyprus Wine, a month when we will most need our hotels to be filled with people, locals and foreigners. PASYXE is always by the side and together with its members for the good of the Cypriot hotel industry and the economy."
In his statements, Mr. Angelidis also referred to the research on tourism that PASYXE has been conducting for about six weeks and added that "the results and information we received were given to the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and the other Ministries for better information and timely decision-making on this issue".
