Ayia Napa has been in the rhythms of the spring tourist season with the first tourists already making their presence felt for about two weeks. According to Mayor Giannis Karousos, transforming in practice the view that the tourist season in free Famagusta has been extended by at least a month and a half, the first hotels in the area began to receive tourists from mid-March.
It is predicted, he added, that by the first ten days of April almost all hotels, tourist accommodation and other tourism businesses will be open. For April, he added, there is a favorable situation this year that the Catholic Easter and the Orthodox Easter are one week apart and therefore in the last ten days of the month, there is expected to be increased tourist traffic in the area. In addition, the Municipality of Ayia Napa, responding to the effort of PASYXE Famagusta to attract domestic tourism on Easter days, is preparing for a series of Easter events, which will be addressed to locals and foreigners alike.
Mr Karousos also said that there was still moderate optimism about how this year's tourist season in free Famagusta would turn out, and that the main reason for this was the prolonged anxiety over the issue of the date and the way out of Great Britain. the European Union. Which in turn makes them somewhat restrained when it comes to planning their summer vacation abroad. "This does not necessarily mean that there will be a negative impact on the number of bookings made for Ayia Napa and Cyprus in general, by the British", also pointed out the mayor of Ayia Napa. "However, as things stand, the important thing for Cyprus from a tourism point of view is to clear up the issue as soon as possible, as the British remain restrained compared to similar periods in previous years.", said Mr. Karousos.
He also said that Ayia Napa may depend on how the British and Russian markets behave, but that there are other promising trends in the region at the same time. That is, increasing trends of tourist arrivals from countries such as Lebanon and Poland, which are characterized as quality tourists and this is a good development. Regarding the Russian market, Mr. Karousos said that there is still the belief that at least it will fluctuate at about the same level as last year and very good. He also pointed out that Cyprus will face fierce competition from neighboring countries this year as well, including Turkey, where the frightening slide of the Turkish pound makes it an attractive destination, in terms of reduced costs.
The bill on noise pollution is delayed
The mayor of Ayia Napa expressed his strong disappointment with the fact that the bill governing the implementation of legislation with restrictive conditions regarding the sound decibels emitted by leisure centers, does not seem to be valid this year. Noting that this is the third year since the bill was submitted to the Parliament's Internal Affairs Committee and its vote is still pending. «Noise pollution is the first complaint lodged by tourists coming to Ayia Napa. It is a problem that is observed in other tourist areas of the island. However, there is no legislation that allows municipalities and the police to take effective action. ", said Mr. Karousos.
Source: Philenews/Pambos Vasilas