As the Director of the Famagusta Tourism Development and Promotion Company, Lakis Avraamidis, stated in KYPE, "the prospects for the summer of 2016 are optimistic and encouraging, unless there is any unexpected political unrest in the Middle East."
He added that this year "both the free region of Famagusta and the rest of Cyprus seem to be favored by the political circumstances in the Eastern Mediterranean region. "After what happened in Turkey last year, it is certain that several million Russian citizens will not travel to the two countries for holidays this year and will look for other destinations such as Cyprus and Greece."
Answering a relevant question, he said that "Cyprus seems to be favored this year by the prevailing conditions in Egypt, which is considered a politically unstable country. "Our island also seems to benefit from the conditions prevailing in our neighboring Syria, which essentially affect the decline of tourism from European countries to both Lebanon and Turkey."
He also noted that "in case there is no deterioration with the situation in Syria, the free region of Famagusta is expected to have a very good summer tourist season. Going to Spring, we expect that there will be more tourist bookings in hotels in our area, since to a large extent the so-called last minute bookings were made, a phenomenon very common in European countries ".
Regarding the condition of the hotels in the area, Mr. Avraamidis said that "in about ten hotels in Ayia Napa and the free area of Famagusta, renovations are being carried out, a phenomenon that has been observed for the last 4 years or so. At the same time, the estimate that existed in previous years that the beach hotels in free Famagusta are old began to gradually decrease ".
In his statements, the Director of ETAP Famagusta referred to the phenomenon that appeared this year and in free Famagusta, a phenomenon that has caused, as he said, "great concern among the local tourism managers".
He explained that "individuals, both Cypriots and foreigners, rent to tourists houses and apartments they own, but without being declared as tourist accommodation. However, the proof of this phenomenon is very difficult, since the tenants are essentially 'trained' by the owners of the accommodation, in case of control by any competent Authority, to state that they were granted free for their holidays due to a friendship that connects them ".
According to Mr. Avraamidis, "the tenants of undeclared premises are not covered by any kind of insurance in case anything happens during their stay. The phenomenon of renting to tourists undeclared houses and apartments has as a result the state loses significant revenue from overnight stays in hotels and declared tourist accommodation ".
Asked about winter tourism, Lakis Avraamidis replied that "the very good infrastructure and the prehistory that Ayia Napa has managed to achieve, have established it as a destination for winter training of teams from countries whose climatic conditions are very cold. "Especially this year for winter training we had teams even from faraway China and Korea."
At the same time, he continued, "there is another form of tourism in our region, namely the performance of both political and religious weddings, especially by Russians who combine their wedding with their vacation. In 2015, in the Municipalities of Ayia Napa, Paralimni, Sotira and Deryneia, 3.500 weddings of foreign couples took place, which are accompanied in Cyprus for this important day, by about 50 relatives and friends ".
Source: KYPE