The tourist season will open earlier this year. Due to the Orthodox Easter which this year is the first week of April and the catholic one which is at the end of March, the hotels are preparing to welcome the first tourists for the season in almost a month from today. Hoteliers are in a hurry to complete their renovations in order to be ready to open their doors on time. All agencies are optimistic about the continuous rise in arrivals for 2018, and estimate that they will break the barrier of 3,6 million tourists last year.
Tour operators estimate that the increase in tourist flow will be around 5% -10% if we take into account the increase in airline seats and the creation of new beds. The president of the Association of Travel Agents of Cyprus, Vassilis Stamataris, stated that there will be a slight increase in the tourist flow, noting that this year the number of bookings is increased compared to last year. "The trend will be upward for 2018, however at lower rates than last year which was a record year.
"January is a month in which contracts are restructured and signed and as the data show due to the availability of flights and new beds, there will be an increase in tourist traffic of 5% -10%."
The General Manager of PASYXE Zacharias Ioannidis told that the number of hotels that will operate from March will be much larger than last year to meet the increased demand that will be due to the descent of tourists for the universal Easter. "Throughout March, they chose to open many hotels, with the majority preparing to receive tourists at the end of the month."
For her part, the General Manager of STEK, Chrysaimili Psilogeni Kenevezou, said that they may receive optimistic messages for the new tourist season, however, she pointed out that other important issues for tourism should be resolved, such as the creation of a tourism ministry and the passage of the law. for the categorization of hotels.
It is worth mentioning that 2017 was a year that broke all records for Cypriot tourism. Tourist arrivals last year increased by 14,6%, while in 2016 it exceeded the previous year by more than half a million tourist arrivals, recording an increase of about 20%. According to the Cyprus Statistical Service traveler survey, tourists from the United Kingdom increased by 8,3% and were the country with the most arrivals, while Russia recorded an increase of 5,5%. A large increase was recorded in 2017 in tourist arrivals from Israel, which amounts to 76,1%. Finally, a significant increase was recorded by Germany at a rate of 52,2%.