You are here

Tourist arrivals revised downwards due to Covid-19

14/07/2020 09:29

The Deputy Ministry of Tourism is revising tourist arrivals downwards for this year, as the continuing coronavirus pandemic and the epidemiological data in main tourist markets are leaving Cyprus out of their destinations, Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios told CNA.

 Perdios said the revision of the aim to attract 25% of last year’s arrivals is expected towards the end of the week, as the Deputy Ministry was continuing its contacts with travel organisers in order to have a clear picture for the rest of the Summer and the first months of Autumn.
 
Main markets, such as Britain, Russia, Israel and Sweden, which constituted 64% of total tourist arrivals in 2019, are out of the game due to the pandemic, and the Deputy Ministry is now focusing on other countries, such as Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Lebanon, and the Emirates.
 
Perdios said the upside of Cyprus’ good epidemiological image was that individual tourists are on the rise, with visits to the Deputy Ministry’s websites increasing by 400%.
 
He pointed out, however, that transitioning from group bookings to attracting individual tourists could not happen overnight.
 
Perdios said domestic tourism was very important and that the situation was a good opportunity to attract locals, the majority of which are expected to stay on the island this Summer.
 
Referring to the end of the season, Perdios said the Deputy Ministry of Tourism had plans for the months following September and aimed at attracting special forms of tourism.