Limassol remains a highly competitive Mediterranean tourist destination but must continue improving its infrastructure and services, Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis said on Monday after meeting local authorities and industry stakeholders in the city.

Koumis chaired a meeting at the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Evel) attended by representatives of the Limassol regional tourism board (Etap), the four mayors of the wider Limassol area and various tourism professionals.

He said the deputy ministry recognises the important role of local authorities in upgrading tourism services and has therefore asked each municipality to submit memoranda based on ten points set by the ministry.

“We want an open and thorough discussion to take place, in order to upgrade the individual destinations,” he said, adding that the government frequently announces plans to upgrade tourist areas and intends to proceed “immediately after analysing all the data”.

At the same time, Koumis said Limassol accounts for 12.4 per cent of total visitors and added the city is “recognised as a particularly competitive destination throughout the Mediterranean”.

“It is a destination for which we receive extremely good comments,” he said, while stressing that “we all move forward together in order to improve it even more”, also pointing to improvements recorded during the winter season.

During the meeting, stakeholders raised the need to upgrade public spaces so they can support tourism in the coming years.

Koumis referred to the Tsireio stadium and the coastal front, saying these are “issues that the government is aware of”.

He also noted that “the coastal road, once completed, once completed, is expected to boost tourism in Limassol.”

Moreover, he said most hotels in the city are of a very high standard and that Limassol primarily attracts higher-income visitors.

However, he added that a large proportion of visitors stay with relatives and friends, permanent residents from third countries, which affects average per-capita spending.

He said Limassol is developing positively, noting the growing number of tourism-related activities in recent years and adding that “even more will happen in the coming years”.

Meanwhile, Evel president and Etap president Andreas Tsouloftas said the agency has a vision and programme for the city’s tourism product and called on the deputy ministry to support its implementation “for the benefit of tourism in Limassol”.

He added that a memorandum with proposals has already been submitted, noting the agency’s vision goes beyond the 2026 public funding agreement signed with the ministry.

Tsouloftas finally stressed the need for financial support to strengthen staffing levels and praised the work of all tourism development companies in the district.