Occupancy in tourist accommodation units is at a fairly high level during this period, as escalation of the Middle East crisis does not seem to have affected the Cypriot tourism industry, apart from a small number of cancellations Director General of the Cyprus Hoteliers Association of Hoteliers (PASYXE) Philokypros Roussounides. He noted that the actors of the tourism industry are on alert as regards the geopolitical developments in the region.

In statements to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Roussounides said that occupancy is currently at a fairly high level, noting that "it is over 80% and in some cases over 90%". It is, as he said, "a reflection of last year and it seems that, at least for the time being, tourist inflow has not been affected by geopolitical developments, despite a small number of cancellations that have been observed."

He said, however, that as long as this situation continues, it is "definitely not favourable as it concerns last-minute bookings but also in terms of holidays in general."

"At the moment we are at quite satisfactory levels despite the fact that overnight stays do not reflect the good tourist inflow from abroad that Cyprus enjoys and which is at last year’s levels," he said, explaining that this happens as a result of more tourists visiting the Turkish occupied areas of the island but also because of increased short-term rental accommodation (airbnb), licensed or not."

Roussounides also explained that due to the economic recession in various countries, some of which are major markets for Cyprus’ tourism industry, such as Great Britain, the length of overnight stays has been shortened, a phenomenon that contributes to observing a difference between the number of tourist inflows and the number of overnight stays.

He reiterated that despite all the above, the tourism industry of Cyprus is resilient as "when in the midst of all these challenges we succeed and are at the same levels as last year, this in itself demonstrates both the resilience and the sustainability of our tourism industry."

“Beyond that we are on alert, we are monitoring developments anxiously as any further escalation of the situation will certainly affect the industry to some extent. This naturally creates uncertainty which does not favour last-minute bookings whose contribution to achieving this year's goals - as close as possible to last year's levels - is very helpful," he noted and reiterated that with the current data and figures "we are close to last year's levels."