We all need to be careful when referring to our country's tourism, the sector on which the daily life of tens of thousands of our compatriots depends, Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis told Cyprus News Agency, on Wednesday noting that the sector in Cyprus shows resilience and enjoys another good year.

Asked to comment on a report by the British tabloid Daily Express that referred to "panic" in the tourism industry in Cyprus due to reduced bookings, the Deputy Minister said that the starting point of the relevant publication was a statement by the President of Cyprus Hotels Association at the beginning of the month and related to the bankruptcy of the German tour operator, FTI.

"First and foremost, I would like to emphasise that despite the many adversities that characterised this year, tourism in our country is running, as shown by the data of the Statistical Service, a remarkable course with positive signs in arrivals and revenue," said the Deputy Minister.

He noted that arrivals in the first half of the year recorded an increase of 2.4% while tourism revenue for the first four months of the year showed an increase of 5.5%. "I must make it clear that the bankruptcy of this particular tourist operator (FTI) was certainly a blow to our country," he noted, adding however that "considering the size of its activities in Cyprus, the overall losses were not so great as to cause panic."

The Deputy Minister pointed out that FTI's reservations in Cyprus for the entire year amounted to 30,000 persons, and of these 5,000 had already arrived in Cyprus when it declared bankruptcy at the beginning of last month. He further noted that 80% of the remaining 25,000 bookings had rescheduled their holidays to Cyprus through other channels.

"The losses are relatively negligible, at least for the tourism industry as a whole, taking into account the total number of tourists expected to visit our country this year," he said. 

Koumis reiterated that this year had a number of challenges with a negative dimension, referring to the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean region, the economic situation in the major economies of Europe and the crisis in the aviation sector, which affected the planning and the course of this year.

"The latter was perhaps the biggest challenge we had to face", he said, noting that Cyprus is an island at the easternmost tip of Europe, which is a geographical disadvantage due to its distance, compared to some other competitive destinations. "Nevertheless, we have managed to have a satisfactory air connectivity this year which is currently not inferior to the air connectivity of previous years. On the contrary, we have a right to be proud that we perceived the challenges early and the necessary steps were taken in time," he noted. 

He highlighted that "what is important is that our tourism is showing resilience and is enjoying another good year." 

Referring to the decrease in the average length of stay and the decrease in spending recorded by some markets, he said that this is mainly due to the economic situation that the major economies of Europe are going through and this does not depend on us, while he pointed out that it is a phenomenon observed in many other destinations. 

"These, in conjunction with other elements certainly affect the profitability of tourism businesses, which is also affected by changes in the habits of visitors and by climate change," he said, noting that there are destinations that are recording a decline.

"I regret to report that I have noticed some negative publications, which do not do justice to the tourism of our country as a whole, and I must clarify that I am not referring to the specific publication on which I was asked to comment", he notes. "We are a country with very good infrastructure, public and private, a country with natural beauty where visitors enjoy the tourist experience, and I believe we all have a responsibility to safeguard our country's tourism," he said.

The Deputy Minister concluded by saying that "we all need to be careful when referring to our country's tourism, the sector on which the daily life of tens of thousands of our compatriots depends."