Despite this year's many challenges, Cyprus has managed to overcome the challenges and record an increase in tourist arrivals and tourism revenues in the first half of the year, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Kostas Koumis, has said, underlining the role that Local Authorities can play in the tourism product of the island.

Koumis and members of his team held a meeting on Thursday with the District Organisation of Local Government, the Mayor and the Deputy Mayors of Limassol District, and the Limassol Tourism Company, in the framework of the meetings held by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism with the aim of exchanging views on the development of the tourist destinations of the country, at the Limassol Chamber of Commerce.

They presented, the results of the Tourism Observatory, while the Deputy Minister underlined that "beyond the social agenda and infrastructure projects every Local Authority must have a tourism agenda."

Koumis said in his introductory speech that the Deputy Ministry does not intend to publicize negative information that discredits our country as a tourist destination, indicating that these are some reports related, mainly, to issues of nuisance and cleanliness.

The usual references made by major tour operators, he continued, is that we are a country with good public and private infrastructure, with good gastronomy and hospitable people, adding that, in the first half of 2024, a 2.4% increase in arrivals was recorded, compared to last year and a revenue increase of 5.5%.

He said it was important that these factors come out and not the small ones that give negative publicity and recalled the negative publicity for Cyprus through the British 'Daily Express', based on a reference during the General Assembly of PASYXE, in relation to the bankruptcy of the German based tour operator FTI.

Among other things, he spoke about the grant scheme for the revival of rural areas, he referred to climate change and the trend  for tourists to avoid destinations with very high temperatures, thus lower demand in the months of July-August, but greater prospects for September and October. 

Koumis said that there is a decrease in the length of stay of visitors and that while last year the average was 8.6 days, this year the average is expected to fall below 8 days. This, he explained, is due to two parameters, the economic situation in Europe, as people continue to travel but for fewer days in order to reduce spending and secondly, the increase in the market from Israel, which is back to around 90% and which records fewer days of stay, and also lowers the average length of stay in the country.

Invited to comment on the fact that there is a significant decrease in the arrival of cruise ships at the port of Limassol, the Deputy Minister said that this was something that was expected given the war in Israel as the port of Haifa operated as a home port for cruise companies.