While arrivals at Paphos airport as we move towards the summer, and after the reduction of military conflicts in the Middle East, are now increasing significantly, but the corresponding increase in hotels and tourist properties in the province does not yet seem to be corresponding.
The continued validity of Britain's tourism directive for Cyprus, which has been issued since the first days of the war and especially after the fall of the drone at the Akrotiri base, also contributes to this. Although since then the situation has clearly normalized in all respects, the directive remains, while a relative numbness from western and northern Europe still applies to travel to the eastern Mediterranean, in contrast to Israel which resumed the flight program to Paphos, although clearly closer to the danger zone than European countries.
The seemingly oxymoronic fact that people travel from the war front and Europeans from the other side of the old continent are reluctant to do so, is explained, however, the president of PASYXE, Thanos Michailidis, tells "F". As he emphasizes, during Britain's official travel directive, insurance companies act accordingly, assessing such a trip as high-risk, a fact that also becomes an economic deterrent for British travellers.
The president of PASYXE Cyprus expressed the hope that this scenario will be reversed in May, so that the tourism industry can recover in time for the rest of the season.
At Paphos International Airport, the flight schedule from European countries has been fully normalized, with aircraft occupancy rates obviously lower than usual. The resumption of flights from Tel Aviv is considered important at this stage, a development that is considered critical even without yet approaching the numbers of the era before the war in Iran.
