Published on : Wednesday, June 26, 2019
This October, at the Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum, Perdios will be the speaker, leading a delegation from the Cyprus Ministry of Tourism, which is a sponsor. In advance of the conference, Perdios mentioned about his insights on the record numbers of visitors to Cyprus, guaranteeing the sustainable growth of the tourism industry and why the Akamas Peninsula is the “hidden gem” of Cyprus.
How is the leisure and tourism environment in Cyprus at present?
Cyprus has been posting record numbers in tourism, since 2015, with arrivals rising by over 50 percent in that time span. At present, we currently welcome 4 million visitors every year to our island. When compared to the number of our inhabitants—represents one of the highest visitor-to-inhabitant ratios in the world. The world average is 0.17:1, the European average is 0.67:1, the Mediterranean average is 1.5:1, and our average is 4.5:1. So things are going very well!
Recent data demonstrate a marginal (0.6 percent) drop in tourism revenue in February for Cyprus, the first slouch in 10 months. Are you concerned?
Yes and no. We are worried that revenue from our traditional source markets is declining somewhat, either because of demand or for shorter stays. At the same time, the decline is not huge. And let’s not disremember that 2019 can be considered as the true ‘comeback year’ of competitors like Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. Aside from an opportunity for consolidation, we also see this as a cue to invest and open up new source markets going forward, with a stronger focus on markets outside the Eurozone.
Tags: Ministry for Cyprus