Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Giorgos Lillikas expressed his optimism on Monday for the prospects of the Cyprus tourist industry in 2004, as the messages from the contacts with the tour operators in Central Europe were positive.

Speaking at the Annual Meeting of the Cyprus Tourist Business Association, Mr. Lillikas said that the foreign tour operators have showed their interest for Cyprus, while positive messages are also coming from France. Similarly, CTO Chairman, Fotis Fotiou has expressed his optimism following the contracts he had with Germany, Austria and Switzerland and for the prospects from the Greek market partly due to the upcoming liberalization of the air transport.

“Given the accumulated problems we had this year – war in Iraq, SARS and the decline of dollar against the pound – the year is regarded as “satisfactory”, Mr. Lillikas noted.

However, the Minister expressed his concern on the delays in the start of a new round of talks for the renewal of the union contract, which expires in May 2004.

STEK

STEK Chairman, Renos Solomides expressed his concerns on the future of the tourist industry and noted that the next three years will be critical due to the increased competitiveness worldwide, but expressed his satisfaction for the Strategic Plan.

“The new year will be a decisive step for the recovery and efficiency of the Cyprus tourism” he concluded.

Tourism is 22% of the Cyprus GDP. Tourist arrivals fell by 6% for January-October 2003, while tourist revenues dropped by 10.5% for January-September 2003 due to the slump in the markets of Central Europe.