Market stakeholders are expressing growing and deep concern over the course of tourism and are seeking the involvement of the President of the Republic in order to examine the next steps.
As Politis revealed on Tuesday, the hotel associations PASYXE and STEK have sent a joint letter to Nikos Christodoulides requesting a meeting to discuss the current data.
“The situation we are experiencing is nothing short of tragic. Concerns do not relate only to tourism performance this year but also to planning for the 2027 tourist season,” market sources told Politis.
Business operators are focusing on reversing the negative image of Cyprus that has been strongly projected abroad.
Despite improvements in travel advisories for Cyprus by nine countries, the main source of concern remains the travel advice issued by the United Kingdom, a key tourism market for the country.
According to information released by CNA, from 4 March 2026 to today, travel advisories for Cyprus have improved in nine countries, as part of sustained efforts by Cyprus. These countries are Bulgaria, France, Denmark, Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland and Sweden.
A recent enlarged meeting at the Deputy Ministry of Tourism also identified the sector’s challenges.
The negative impact on tourism is also noted by Central Bank Governor Christodoulos Patsalides. In a message included in the bank’s 2025 annual report, published on Tuesday, Patsalides said tourism is expected to be negatively affected in 2026, but to recover from 2027.
The biggest aviation crisis
Deputy Tourism Minister Costas Koumis said humanity is experiencing the greatest crisis the aviation sector has ever faced, outlining to Politis the adverse conditions affecting tourism and Cyprus in particular.
“Tourism is by nature sensitive and vulnerable to negative external developments. As is well known, our country has been affected as a destination by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East,” he said, noting that this is reflected in a recorded 30 per cent drop in tourist arrivals in March.
“Of course, during that particular month, we had no arrivals at all from Israel, which is our second most important tourism market, with all that this entails,” he added.
“Unfortunately,” Koumis said, “the tourism sector is also being hit by another crisis related to aviation fuel. In essence, humanity is experiencing the greatest crisis the aviation sector has ever faced.”
He pointed out that major airlines have taken decisions to scale back their flight programmes. “We have seen, regrettably, an industry giant reduce frequencies on roughly 100 routes. We have seen a European airline ground an entire subsidiary with 27 aircraft, and many other airlines take similar decisions. All this clearly demonstrates the crisis facing aviation.”
He added that ticket prices continue to rise, further dampening demand.
“We are a country with 100 per cent dependence on air connectivity, and all of this unfortunately creates a difficult environment for our tourism sector,” Koumis said.
“Reduced demand is also being recorded in April, and I expect it to continue in May and June, although on a downward trajectory,” he noted.
“As the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, we have stepped up promotion of our country abroad, as well as our contacts with strategic partners, and we hope to minimise losses as much as possible,” he concluded.
“There is a need to intensify efforts to promote Cyprus as a safe tourist destination, as well as to strengthen cooperation with tour operators to limit losses during the summer months,” DISY MP and party spokesperson Onoufrios Koulla said in a statement.
New support under consideration
At the same time, the government appears to be examining the possibility of new support for the hotel sector.
Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas, asked on Tuesday about the potential extension of the scheme for hoteliers to include other segments of the sector, said the ministry is in contact both with hotel representatives and with representatives of other tourism-related sectors. Those stakeholders have requested an extension of the scheme for May and the inclusion of additional tourism professions.
“There is no decision at this stage,” Mousiouttas said, noting that the matter is under discussion between the Ministry of Labour, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Finance.
The President also left the door open on Tuesday to extending the employment subsidy scheme in the hotel sector to additional months. He added that authorities are also examining ways to reinforce Cyprus’s connectivity through support for airlines, as well as support for the primary sector.