Hotel occupancy rates in August reached 80%-85% according to the president of the Cyprus Hotels Association (PASYXE) Thanos Michaelides, who added that so far the summer season is recording satisfactory levels, with a slight decrease compared to last year in bookings. The 2024 season will close a little below last year, he noted.

Michaelides told CNA that until August 31, hotel bookings in the Republic are on average a little behind compared to last year. “It has been quite a difficult summer so far because there were various ups and downs", he commented, adding that "we were quite affected by developments in the Middle East, not only in terms of bookings from Israel but also cancellations and comparatively reduced demand from other countries who considered Cyprus to be very close to Israel".

For some, Michaelides added, this acted as a deterrent to booking a holiday in Cyprus.

Regarding countries most visitors are coming from, PASYXE President said that the UK, Israel, Poland, France and Germany and the most traditional markets in general.

He further noted that one significant problem concerns maintaining bookings flow, adding that the constant geopolitical changes are reversing the demand very abruptly, something which makes planning and operation difficult for hotels, while another major problem concerns finding workers, a difficult issue not only for Cyprus but also for other countries.

We also see, he continued, that "people are spending comparatively less, therefore the revenue is not at the level we want it to be because the global economy is not at its best, and this also affects the way tourists spend" since, as he explained, "we have to measure both revenue and occupancy rates".

This year there has been a more moderate tourist trend and as a result hotel revenue is more moderate as well, he concluded.