A German TUI Boeing 737-8 was named “Larnaca” by House President Annita Demetriou on Sunday to mark the 50 year old relationship between TUI and Cyprus.

The ceremony was held at Larnaca International Airport with Demetriou praising TUI’s presence in the Cyprus market for more than 50 years, noting its long-term presence on the island with our tourism product helps improve and enhance competitiveness around the world.

She also said that the event is a great step, especially with all the challenges Cyprus is facing due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

On his part, Transport, Communications and Works Minister Yiannis Karousos said TUI is a valuable partner of the Cypriot air and tourism sector. It is an honour for us to name a TUI group aircraft to “Larnaca” because there are many benefits from this action, he added.

Karousos expressed optimism over the replacement of tourist arrivals following the war in Ukraine and said the ministry is working closely with Hermes and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and airlines to create and maintain incentive plans and more in the future.

Tui Group CEO, Fritz Joussen, sad the Boeing 737-8 Larnaca will act as an ambassador of Cyprus and TUI for all Europe. After two years of the COVID pandemic, people want to travel and this will benefit countries in south Europe which have been greatly affected by travel restrictions during the pandemic. He said in 2022, TUI wants to bring more visitors from the UK and Germany to Cyprus compared to last years and to contribute significantly to the success of tourism in Cyprus.

A TUI Group press release said that "Cyprus and TUI have worked together for the last 50 years and the group brings to the island about 500 thousand visitors annually from 11 European markets. The Group operates 19 privately-owned hotels, of which 14 in Larnaca and 5 in Pafos, while its strategic partner is the leading Cypriot hotel chain Atlantica.