We must not crow over the fact that tourist arrivals for the first quarter of 2004 have showed an increase compared to the corresponding period of 2003, since the war in Iraq last year contributed heavily to the drop in tourist arrivals worldwide, PASYXE Chairman, Haris Loizides told StockWatch on Tuesday.

Mr. Loizides noted that comparisons must be made with 2001, which was a normal year for the Cyprus’ tourist industry. “For the first quarter of 2001, tourist arrivals stood at 237 thousand compared to 191 thousand in 2004. We must also take into account that the prices of the tourist packages offered by the hoteliers to the foreign tour operators have remained the same since 2001. This justifies the fact that although there is an increase in tourist arrivals by 9.1%, tourist revenues have dropped by 6%”, Mr. Loizides said.

Meanwhile, PASYXE reviewed the dynamics of the occupied territories in the tourist sector and the anticipated free movement of European tourists to the north.

According to sources, all tourist partners have expressed their interest on Mr. Loizides’ speech at the Association’s general meeting to take place on Thursday. The meeting will be attended and addressed by the Cyprus President, Tassos Papadopoulos.