Cyprus tourist boss denies panic and says island is 'booming' despite 30,000 lost bookings

A top Cyprus tourism boss has denied any panic in the island’s tourism industry - despite an almighty dent in bookings.

Damning headlines about the republic’s flailing holiday reservations have sparked a staunch rebuke from its Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis.

He spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk following recent reports that Cypriots are in a state of panic as the gorgeous holiday hotspot tries to claw back its tourism numbers after 30,000 holidaymakers ditch it to the tune of £30 million.

But Mr Koumis said although there have been “challenges” such as the cost of living crisis, that in fact Cyprus has seen a “remarkable growth” in both visitor numbers and tourism revenue.

He said: “There is no doubt, that the current year is a year full of challenges for the tourism industry worldwide.

"The financial situation in many European countries, the reduction in the purchasing power of million of households internationally, along with several other challenges have led to stakeholders concerns regarding the performance of the sector, nevertheless the performance of the Cyprus tourism industry remains strong and the sector shows resilience.”

There had been reports that Germany’s third-largest tour operator going bankrupt had exacerbated the situation - but Mr Koumis said this was incorrect.

He said: “I have been informed that some statements by local tourism stakeholders and some wrong assessments in relation to a tour operator bankruptcy have led to negative publicity regarding the sector’s performance, but that is not true.

“The reference was about the bankruptcy of the third largest German tour operator, which of course was another unpleasant development for the industry at international level, but it is worth mentioning that the market share of the tour operator in Cyprus was very small.

"The tour operator had only 30,000 bookings in Cyprus on a yearly basis, so, the negative consequences for the Cyprus tourism industry were very limited.”

The number of international tourist arrivals in Cyprus rose significantly in 2023 compared to the previous year, nearly catching up with the figures recorded before Covid, according to data website www.statista.com.

After peaking at just under four million in 2019, inbound tourist arrivals in Cyprus declined sharply to 632 thousand in 2020 but then reached around 3.8 million in 2023. And Mr Koumis said that business is “booming” in 2024.

He said: “As I have already said, the country’s tourism sector is booming again, experiencing an even better performance in comparison with the previous year, and the years before covid times.

“An increase in tourist arrivals by 2.4 percent has been recorded already for the first half of the year, while the United Kingdom is recording an increase of 3.3 percent.”

He added: “We, of course, follow the developments very carefully and on a daily basis, and we keep an open line of communication with our tourism partners worldwide, and of course we keep an open line with the private sector like hoteliers, and travel agents.

“We all feel that despite the challenges, the rest of the year will continue to mark satisfactory results, close to the levels of the previous year, which was a good year for Cyprus tourism.”

Cyprus is known for its beautiful sandy beaches with clean waters. As it’s a relatively small island it can be driven by car in just a few hours time.