The occupancy of hotels during the three days of Christmas and New Year was around 50%, according to the General Manager of the Pancyprian Hoteliers Association (PASYXE) Philocypro Rousounidi. He notes that on a pan-Cypriot scale, it is currently in operation 20% of hotels and tourist accommodation.
In his statements to KYPE, Mr. Rousounidis stated that At the beginning of December, before the big explosion of the case and the outbreak of the "Omicron" mutation, it became clear that there was a great demand inside for short-day getaways, taking advantage of the plan to strengthen domestic tourism, especially during the festive three days of Christmas and New Year.
Unfortunately he noticed, After a few weeks and due to the deterioration of the situation and the epidemiological picture, some people made second thoughts, as a result of which we have the phenomenon of the cancellations of the latter. Mr. Rousounidis stated that the traffic was limited to low, for the season, levels, mainly in the mountains and in the countryside, but also in very few units, in Limassol and Paphos.
Asked about it, the DG of the Cyprus Hoteliers Association said that In the mountain resorts, the number of visitors was higher and the operation of the festive tourist villages was facilitated by the Ministry of Tourism, with the result that many of them visited them and some of them spent the night in these villages.
Indicatively, he noted, the fullness in the countryside and in the mountains in some cases reached 70% during the three-day period.
Regarding January, Mr. Rousounidis stressed that due to the situation prevailing, not only in Cyprus, but also in Europe, there does not appear to be significant tourist traffic from abroad, due to the insecurity and uncertainty that prevails with the Omicron mutation.
He added, however, that the Cyprus Hoteliers Association evaluates the situation on a daily basis, hoping that if the restrictive measures imposed work, then planning will begin for the new year for 2022.
Making an account for 2021, Mr. Rousounidis told KYPE that the coming year can be divided into two parts. The first half, he said, was a "reflection of the catastrophic 2020" with almost negligible tourist inflows, while the second half recorded a "tolerable tourist movement" giving the opportunity to reach 50% of 2019 arrivals.
The second half of the year continued, it was the one that filled the Cyprus Hoteliers Association with optimism for 2022, that it could, under certain conditions and under the condition of the pandemic, be the beginning of the recovery of the industry. However, he estimated that the total recovery of the industry is not expected before the next 3-4 years.
Sending a message to the members of PASYXE, Mr. Rousounidis stated that This is the moment of individual responsibility of each one, so that we can seriously and respectfully try to build a safe framework to have a better tourist year this year than 2021.
At 30% the fullness in the province of Paphos
The occupancy of hotel accommodation in the province of Paphos ranged at 30% during the Christmas and New Year holidays, according to the president of the Paphos Hoteliers Association, Thanos Michailidis.
In statements of KYPE, Mr. Michailidis stated that The occupancy of hotels in the province of Paphos in January is expected to be around 20%, while he expressed doubts for February, estimating that this month is not expected to move to higher levels due to the Omicron mutation. He also described this winter as "extremely difficult".
Asked about this, the president of the Paphos Hoteliers Association said that this Christmas the attendance was slightly better in Paphos province, compared to Christmas 2020. He also said that the absolute numbers that reflect the fullness of the hotels are extremely low.
Finally, Mr. Michailidis stated that today in Paphos operate 28 of the 110 units of all types of licensed tourist accommodation in Paphos.