Tourism minister optimistic over direct flights to Saudi

Tourism deputy minister Savvas Perdios on Monday said there is now a serious possibility of direct flights from Cyprus to Saudi Arabia which has been in the works for three years.

According to the deputy minister, the flight swould be twice a week, with efforts to connect Jeddah with the island.

Perdios was speaking from Jeddah, where he had separate contacts with the country’s chamber of commerce and civil aviation as well as meetings with airlines, tourism operators, travel and tour agencies and cruise companies.

“We feel there is serious momentum to make this a reality and we wanted to take advantage of it,” Perdios told the Cyprus News Agency.

During the meetings, Perdios said the various promotions and digital campaigns needed were discussed.

He added that everyone “was very, very positive” and that “there will be serious interest in Cyprus from this market,” once a direct flight is established.

The deputy minister said the flight should be from Jeddah and not from the capital, because the flight would be 90 minutes, explaining this would be ideal for brief getaways, for business tourism or to access cruises that start from Saudi Arabia.

He added that direct flights to new destinations are usually biweekly, as once a week is not enough to penetrate a new market.

Perdios will leave Tuesday for Dubai where he will join the delegation of the president who is visiting the United Arab of Emirates.