Coronavirus: Paphos tourism still waiting for UK market

While remaining popular for domestic tourism, increases in arrivals from abroad during August to October will dictate how successful year Paphos will have, head of the Paphos regional board of tourism Nasos Hadjigeorgiou said on Friday.

However he said in the last few days a boost had been seen from the UK and Russian markets.

“The situation remains fluid and unpredictable. In recent days there has been an increase in UK bookings but not at the levels expected. September and October are the best for Paphos, so we are monitoring the situation,” he added.

Commenting on pandemic losses, Hadjigeorgiou told CNA that “the losses are huge”. Tourism revenues fell by 85 per cent (-€2,293 billion) in 2020 compared to 2019, while a reduction of 60-70 per cent could be seen in 2021, he added.

“At the moment we are running a huge digital campaign abroad, in collaboration with Pasyxe, Hermes airports, and the Hellenic Bank, amounting to more than €280,000. At the same time we are trying to attract domestic tourism as much as possible,” he said.

Hadjigeorgiou further said that the Paphos tourism board focused on upgrading the services offered, using all the available new media to present Cyprus’ places.

“We all live in unprecedented conditions, and we are anxiously awaiting positive developments,” he concluded.