There is a gradual improvement in the flow of bookings, however they are still moving at lower levels than expected for the period we are going through, said the President of the Pancyprian Hoteliers Association (PASYXE), Thanos Michaelides.
"We are at lower levels than we should have been for the month of May," he said, adding that a similar picture is expected for June.
"Compared to March, there is of course an improvement in the flow of bookings, but we are still at lower levels than we should be," clarified the President of PASYXE.
Referring to the bookings for the months of July and August, Mr. Michailidis said that there is a gap which began to form in March.
However, he noted that "because there is also a lot of flow in last-minute bookings, we hold out hope that if there is an upward trend in bookings in June for July and August, we may have better results than we see now".
"We need to monitor the situation constantly to have a more correct forecast of how the summer season will develop," he added.
The President of PASYXE also described the Israeli market as very important for Cyprus.
"Now the Israeli market is starting to move. We hope that this flow from Israel will continue. It is a market that has quick reflexes and we hope there will be an upward trend," he said.
Mr. Michailidis described the staff as the "most important part of the tourism industry".
"The human factor is what makes the difference in the tourism industry, which can set Cyprus apart from other tourist destinations," he said.
As he mentioned, the crisis in the Middle East creates additional challenges for the retention of human resources in the sector.
"The fact that our tourism has some challenges, due to the crisis in the Middle East, creates a problem for the staff. The Government has responded positively to our request for human resources support for the month of April," he said.
"Hoteliers want the Government to monitor the tourist traffic in hotels, so that where support needs to be given for human resources, they can give it, so that we can maintain human resources," he added.
Regarding prices, the President of PASYXE estimated that they remain competitive.
"Prices are competitive. Due to the situation, several hoteliers have also given additional discounts to tour operators," he said.
"Of course, we have also given special prices to the Cypriot market, in the hope of creating more demand," he added.
Mr. Michaelides described the Cypriot market as "important", noting at the same time that it is relatively small in percentage.
"Now that we have the three days of the Holy Spirit, there is definitely a large flow of hotels from the Cypriot market," he said.
Asked whether air ticket prices affect tourist flows, Mr. Michaelides said that "because Cyprus is quite eastern, air tickets tend to be more expensive rather than cheaper, compared to other competing destinations."
Concluding, he said that the main markets of Cypriot tourism are the United Kingdom, Israel, Poland, Germany, the Scandinavian countries and other European countries.
CNA
