Cyprus successfully managed this year’s tourism crisis through close cooperation between the public and private sectors, Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis said on Friday.
Tourist arrivals fell by 8% during the first seven months of 2026, but Koumis said the decline was now clearly easing. The year is expected to end with losses of around 5%.
Public and private sector cooperation
Koumis was speaking after a meeting with the Limassol Tourism Board, the Limassol branch of the Cyprus Hotel Association and local authorities. Discussions focused on the challenges facing tourism in Limassol and the district’s future prospects.
“In tourism, nothing can be achieved without close cooperation between the public and private sectors,” he said. “We all have a responsibility to ensure that tourism operates properly and efficiently and that Cyprus remains a competitive destination.”
Koumis said Cyprus had been called upon to manage a major crisis this year.
“Enough time has now passed for us to speak openly. As a country, we managed the crisis successfully precisely because we cooperated well with the private sector,” he said.
Officials received regular information on the scale of the problem, including thousands of cancellations and a freeze in bookings, and responded with a series of measures.
“Not all countries, including some that were less affected than Cyprus, managed the crisis in the same way,” he added.
Decline expected to narrow further
Koumis said the latest figures, rather than estimates, demonstrated the effectiveness of the response.
Tourist arrivals fell by around 1% in June and slightly more than 1% in July, while August’s results are still awaited.
The overall decline for the first seven months of the year has narrowed to 8%.
“I emphasise the word ‘narrowed’ because it indicates that the decline is now clearly on a downward trend,” he said.
Koumis estimated that the year would close with a decline of around 5%.
“That would still be above 2024 levels, but considering what has happened during the year, I believe it proves that we successfully managed a tourism crisis that was both serious and extensive,” he said.
Limassol’s tourism share remains at 12%
Limassol’s share of Cyprus’ tourism market has remained at around 12% for several years.
Koumis said each region must promote its comparative advantages and seek to increase its share. He added that complaints relating to Limassol generally concern average spending per visitor rather than lower arrival numbers.
The Deputy Ministry of Tourism and the government were working consistently to promote the district’s advantages, he said.
Koumis was also due to visit Pissouri, which was recognised as one of the world’s most beautiful villages around 18 months ago, to inspect a new museum under development.
The Deputy Ministry hopes such attractions can become comparative advantages for Limassol’s tourism industry.
Concern over marine pollution
Asked whether he was concerned about marine pollution in Limassol, Koumis said responsibility for the issue rested with the Deputy Ministry of Shipping.
“We are in constant contact with the Deputy Ministry of Shipping. We understand that the issue has already been assessed and will be handled by the competent authorities,” he said. “We hope that a long-term solution will be found.”
Cyprus’ sea is one of the country’s key comparative advantages and its quality must be protected, he added.
Koumis said tourism was a highly dynamic industry linked to the movement of millions of people and therefore faced new challenges every day.
“Problems in tourism never stop. It is an industry that never sleeps,” he said.
Digital and green transition
The Deputy Ministry is taking a series of steps to improve Cyprus’ digital transition and transformation, Koumis said.
It is also implementing the European Tourism Agenda 2030, which includes action on green development, digital transformation and legislation.
“These are all areas that we are advancing towards implementation,” he added.
Calls for more hotel beds
Limassol Tourism Board Chairman Andreas Tsouloftas thanked Koumis for attending the meeting, saying its aim was to assess the challenges facing the local tourism industry and prepare a plan for the coming period.
He expressed satisfaction with the Deputy Ministry’s work during the tourism crisis.
“We worked extremely well together during the crisis, and it appears to have worked,” he said.
Tsouloftas said Limassol’s 12% share of the national tourism market was partly linked to the number of available hotel beds.
“Small, lower-category hotels have been converted into other types of premises and residential units, and we have lost a significant number of beds,” he said.
He called for greater investment or incentives to increase accommodation capacity and Limassol’s share of the national tourism market.
Tsouloftas also welcomed the fact that Limassol attracts higher-income visitors, which he said remained a central objective.
Limassol Hotel Association Chairman Christos Tsanos also praised the Deputy Ministry’s handling of the tourism crisis.
“Limassol is what it is. We are not going to create another Limassol now,” he said. “We must maintain its existing standards and attract more people who want to stay here.”
He added that the association was strengthening its marketing activities and cooperation with the Employers and Industrialists Federation, the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Limassol Tourism Board and Limassol Municipality.
Source: CNA
