The Deputy Minister of Tourism Costas Koumis has made a habit of producing numbers and percentages as proof of the good work he has been doing. While this is a perfectly reasonable way of showing that policies have been successful, it does not give a full picture or acknowledge that there may be negative consequences to the numbers game.

For example, Koumis, at every opportunity, talks about the double record set in tourist arrivals and revenue in 2024 and forecasts that this year will be as good. He does not mention the strain on the island’s limited resources, and especially on the restricted water supply, during an extended drought. Water reserves are alarmingly low while water cuts imposed on farming have reduced agricultural output, caused prices of produce to soar and pushed farmers to the brink of financial ruin. Can we cope with record tourist arrivals under the circumstances?

On Tuesday, at a House committee meeting, Koumis presented another impressive set of numbers – the number of Airbnb premises on the deputy ministry’s registry had increased by 73 per cent since April 2023. The increase could reach 99.8 per cent if all 1.275 pending applications were processed and approved. In April 2023, there were 4,765 Airbnb premises (7,138 beds) on the deputy ministry’s registry and today there were 8,248 (36,640 beds). Although the number of premises has doubled, the number of available beds has increased five times – more impressive stats for Koumis to impress the public with.

Representatives of estate agents’ bodies were less than impressed and raised a serious concern about the expansion of licensed Airbnb premises, which does not seem to bother Koumis. As the number of these premises increases the supply of housing for long-term rent is reduced, pushing up rent prices. If there was an abundant supply of housing for rent this would not be an issue, but everyone knows this is not the case. Rents have been steadily rising and people all over Cyprus are complaining they are unaffordable for families on local wages. The issue has also been taken up by the political parties which have been calling for action, while the government has announced some measures to assist house buying by young couples.

In many cities in Europe the issue of Airbnb is regulated by local government which places restrictions on the number of premises registered, to maintain the supply of housing for locals and maintain rents at reasonable levels. The Cyprus government may claim it is concerned about unaffordable rents, but it is happy to reduce the supply of housing for long-term rent, which makes rents even more unaffordable to locals. While there may be more than 8,000 premises registered with the deputy ministry for tourism there could be as many that are not registered but are still available on the Airbnb platform and unavailable for long -term rent.

Instead of boasting about numbers, as Koumis likes to do, the government would do well to look at the expansion of Airbnb premises and the effect it has on the supply of housing and rents. If it really wants to ensure affordable housing for the local population it cannot turn a blind eye to the steady reduction of the housing supply.