Occupancy rate at hotels in December estimated at around 40 per cent

Low occupancy rates will be observed at hotels in December, the head of the Cyprus Hotels’ Association (Pasyxe) Thanos Michaelides said on Friday.

He said that hotels that will operate in December have occupancy rates of 35-40 per cent, and that there will be limited tourism traffic during Christmas and New Year.

In his statements to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Michaelides said that out of the 253 hotels across Cyprus that are members of Pasyxe, 89 are open at this time, with most operating in the Paphos district. As an example, Michaelides said that out of the 59 hotels located in the Paphos district, 25 are in operation in winter.

Asked about this, Michailides said that the British market is currently active, but there are also visitors from Poland and Germany, while tourism from Israel has stopped due to the war.

Michaelides added that the number of hotels operating in the winter season is limited due to the increased operating costs.

“We are trying as Pasyxe, and with the government’s help, to have more flexible planning for the winter, so that more hotels remain open during the winter season,” he said.

He said that it is difficult for hotels to remain open due to the high operation costs in the winter, accompanied by the low occupancy rates and low prices.

Regarding the summer season, he emphasised that it is expected to start at the beginning of April, however this year the Catholic Easter is at the end of March, which “usually does not help much”.

He also said that Pasyxe will demonstrate flexibility and work to develop the markets already coming to Cyprus to establish country as a year-round tourist destination.