National flag carrier Cyprus Airways on Monday announced a remarkable 70 per cent surge in passenger numbers in July, transporting a total of 77,656 passengers, compared to 45,578 passengers during the same month last year.

In addition, the airline said that it expects robust tourist arrivals in Cyprus throughout August.

According to the announcement, the company highlighted that “last month, the airline operated 548 scheduled flights, in comparison to 337 flights in July 2022, achieving a similar load factor to the previous year”.

“Compared to June 2019, Cyprus Airways transported 41 per cent more passengers on its scheduled services and conducted 25 per cent more flights,” the announcement added.

Paul Sies, the Chief Executive Officer of Cyprus Airways, expressed his enthusiasm, stating that “July 2023 was an exceptionally busy, successful, and pivotal month for us”.

“Last month, we welcomed the same number of passengers we transported throughout the entirety of 2021, a record-breaking figure compared to previous years,” Sies added.

What is more, the Cyprus Airways CEO explained that during the month of July, the company introduced the new and advanced Airbus A220 to its fleet.

“This aircraft, which entered service earlier this month, offers passengers an unparalleled travel experience onboard while simultaneously achieving the optimal balance between passenger comfort, operational efficiency, and our sustainability goals,” Sies said.

Finally, Sies said that “preliminary data for August, the company’s busiest month, looks promising, and we are eagerly anticipating another record-breaking month of tourist arrivals on our 60 weekly flights to 19 destinations this summer”.

 

Cyprus’ economic climate experienced a boost in August, primarily driven by a strengthening business sentiment, particularly in the services sector, and to a lesser extent in retail trade, according to a report by the University of Cyprus’ Economic Research Centre.

However, it should be noted that consumer sentiment took a downturn for the second consecutive month.

According to the report, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) increased by 3.4 points compared to July.

The report explained that the improvement in the services sector’s climate stemmed from enhanced assessments of the past quarter’s business cycle and a significant upward revision in expectations for the forthcoming quarter’s business cycle.

In the retail trade sector, the climate was positively influenced mainly by more optimistic predictions for sales in the next quarter.

In contrast, the deterioration of the construction sector’s climate, as outlined by the economic research centre, was mainly attributed to less favourable evaluations of ongoing projects.

The manufacturing sector experienced a weakening climate due to more negative assessments of current orders and more cautious production estimates for the next quarter, according to the research.

Furthermore, in August, consumer sentiment experienced a consecutive second-month decline, while consumer expectations regarding the country’s economic situation were revised downwards.

Additionally, the report noted that that consumer intentions to make significant purchases in the upcoming months weakened, following two months of consecutive strengthening.

Meanwhile, the Economic Uncertainty Indicator decreased in August, primarily due to lower uncertainty among businesses in the services sector and among consumers.

Finally, business expectations for product prices over the next quarter were revised upwards across all sectors in August, the report concluded.

 

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Monday, August 28 with profits.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 135.70 points at 13:06 during the day, reflecting an increase of 0.77 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 82.40 points, representing a rise of 0.82 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €89,191.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative, investment firm indexes rose by 1 per cent, 0.78 per cent and 4.52 per cent respectively. The hotel index fell by 0.79 per cent.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Hellenic Bank (no change), the Bank of Cyprus (no change), Demetra Holdings (+2.56 per cent), Petrolina Holdings (no change), and Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (+2.65 per cent).