There are “very good numbers” this tourist season, exceeding Cyprus’ target over a 5% to 10% annual increase in tourist arrivals this year, Deputy Minister for Tourism Kostas Koumis has said, noting the Deputy Ministry in collaboration with the Cyprus Hotels Association (PASYXE) will focus on addressing long-standing problems facing the industry, such as employment and the hotels' licensing framework.

On his part, PASYXE President Thanos Michaelides said that following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cypriot accommodation industry is facing a deficit of 5,000 persons, calling for swift and flexible decisions.

The challenges facing the tourist industry were discussed during a meeting between the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides and the new board of PASYXE in the presence of Mr. Koumis.

In statements following the meeting, Koumis said that he and PASYXE will continue the discussions in new meeting to be held later in the afternoon at the Deputy Ministry.

On this year’s tourist season, Koumis said arrivals for the seven months of 2023 are up by an annual 27% while revenue increased by 30% while this year is jus 2% below of the arrivals over the respective period of 2019, when Cyprus marked an all-time record, in spite of the lack of the Russian tourist market.

“There is no doubt that we are going through a very good tourist season and as a member of PASYXE has noted we have covered the gap of the tourist market,” he said.

However, Koumis noted we should not focus only on numbers because “the tourism industry has amassed a series of problems and issues which we are called to solve and to manage.”

Responding to questions Koumis said the problem of employment gap in the tourist sector is worldwide and emerged due to the spike in tourist flows especially after the pandemic, while Cyprus has been facing the problem since 2018 and 2019.

He noted that the Ministry of Labour in the coming period will outline its strategy which will include solutions on the issue of the tourist industry.

On his part, Thanos Michaelides express satisfaction over the tourist season so far, noting that we have reached very close to the 2019 numbers and I believe we have surpassed the quality of tourists compared with that of 2019 which is more important that the absolute numbers of arrivals.

He added that in 2024 Cyprus will surpass the 2019 record due to the very good momentum this year, improved air connectivity especially in the winter time, which will assist arrivals in the summer of 2024.

On the issue of the employment, Michaelides called for flexibility and swift decisions, noting that since the COVID-19 pandemic the tourist industry faces a shortage of approximately 5,000 persons.

“We need to understand there is a large shortage of labour force in Cyprus, which if not solved surely will harm the tourist industry,” he went on to say.

Furthermore, asked about rising interest rates, Michaelides said this is a great problem for the hotel industry which is capital intensive due to the significant investments required.

“If we take into account that we had two very difficult years following the pandemic, this (rate) hikes are pressuring very much the hotel’s profitability and is worrying the hotel industry,” he noted.

On his part, Koumis said the government has limited solutions over this issue, stressing that “we are interested in a healthy hotel accommodation industry and to that end we are discussing each issue separately.”