The State Department's estimates for tourist arrivals in August are now reduced to 100.000, halving the initial estimates after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, due to the epidemiological picture in the main tourist markets of Cyprus and especially in the United Kingdom.
Speaking to KYPE, Mr. Perdios also stressed that the Ministry of State did not proceed to update the target for the whole of 2020, since this is also up to the epidemiological data.
The initial target, set last March, was 200.000, but the fact that Cyprus 'main tourist markets remain outside Category A (entry without testing is allowed) keeps Cyprus out of travel organizers' programs, especially in the United Kingdom. led the State Department to review the target downwards.
"Our initial target for August, as set in March, was a lump sum of 200.000 arrivals, however, after contacting British tour operators in recent weeks, this target is being revised to 100.000 at best," he said. Mr. Perdios.
Note that in addition to the 50% reduction of the original target after the outbreak of the pandemic Covid-19, the new target for tourist arrivals in August corresponds to only 18% of August 2019. It is also noted that August is one of the months with the most tourist arrivals in Cyprus.
Mr. Perdios even pointed out that the revised target includes a forecast for arrivals of British tourists, either individual tourists or organized, in the second half of the month if there is such an improvement in the epidemiological picture that will put the country in category A ', thus allowing inclusion of Cyprus in the programs of travel organizers.
As Mr. Perdios explained, in the contacts with the Ministry of State, the travel organizers clarified that their programs reach until the middle of August and from there on they will evaluate the situation every two weeks.
"Therefore, we estimate that if things go better than we expect we will have British arrivals around the end of August, but the lump sums are 100.000, as it is very difficult to imagine that we will have more than 100.000 by the end of August."
However, Mr. Perdios said that the State Department did not re-evaluate the estimated arrivals of the remaining months, as everything is liquid.
"Since the tour operators have not told us that they are canceling their program for the whole year, but until mid-August, for now we have not reached the remaining months. So it means that for the whole year we go between 20% and 25% of last year's arrivals in the best of cases ", he said, pointing out, however, that this goal also lies in the epidemiological data in the main tourist destinations of Cyprus.
Famagusta.News / KYPE