The hotels that remained open in December operate with low occupancy rates of around 35%-40%, according to the president of the Cyprus All-Cyprus Hoteliers Association, Thanos Michaelidis, who said, however, that there is expected to be limited traffic during the Christmas and New Year period.
In his statements to KYPE, Mr. Michaelidis said that out of the 253 Pankypria hotels, members of PASYXE, 89 are open at this time, with most operating in Pafos district. As an example, Mr. Michaelidis said that out of the 59 hotels located in Pafos district, 25 are in operation in winter.
Asked about this, Mr. Michailidis said that the English market is currently active, but there are visitors from Poland and Germany, while tourism from Israel has stopped due to the war situation.
Mr. Michaelidis stated that the number of hotels operating in the winter season is limited due to the increased operating costs. We are trying as PASYXE, he continued, and with the Government to have a more flexible planning for the winter, so that more hotels remain open during the winter season.
With low occupancy and low prices but increased operating costs, it is very difficult for hotels to stay open and hoteliers who decide to operate their hotels do so to invest in full-time operations, he said.
Regarding the summer season, he emphasized that it is expected to start at the beginning of April, but this year the Catholic Easter is at the end of March, which "usually does not help much".
He also said that PASYXE will demonstrate flexibility and move in all directions since there are many unsettled factors that affect the tourist flow in Cyprus. That is why we must constantly improve the existing markets and add new ones that will have the prospect of developing markets for year-round tourism for Cyprus, he concluded.