Cyprus’ tourism industry is watching the fallout from the Middle East crisis with growing unease, as concern over the island’s association with the conflict begins to weigh on bookings, hotel openings and hiring plans.

Hoteliers and tourism officials met this week to assess the impact on the sector, with labour emerging as the main concern, according to local media reports.

The discussion came as some hotel operators reconsidered plans to open units in March and early April, a period seen as important both for tour operator programmes and efforts to extend the season.

A number of hoteliers had been preparing to launch operations in time for spring demand, including both Catholic and Orthodox Easter.

Those plans are now under review as uncertainty persists.

Hotel operators have proposed extending the full suspension of work for employees by around two months, effectively until the end of April, until there is greater clarity over developments in the Middle East.

In practice, this would mean prolonging unemployment benefit support for affected staff.

An alternative option discussed would allow partial suspension for hotels choosing to reopen earlier, enabling them to employ only the staff needed to match actual reservations and keep operations commercially viable.

The possibility of incentives to support recruitment was also raised, while some in the sector argued Cyprus should seek help from the EU after finding itself exposed to economic fallout from a conflict it neither sought nor wished to join.

The summer picture remains mixed.

On the one hand, tour operators have so far not cut the volume of flights scheduled to Cyprus for the May-to-October season, including charter services.

On the other, cancellations already recorded for March and April are now being followed by some summer cancellations, while demand for new bookings remains weak.

That combination is fuelling concern across the industry, with tourism stakeholders hoping any hostilities will end quickly enough for confidence in the destination to recover.

Pasyxe president Thanos Michaelides, speaking to Philenews, called for composure, patience and flexibility, saying Cyprus continued to enjoy a strong image in Europe and remained a safe tourist destination despite the disruption.

As he put it, “Cyprus has a good image in Europe, which is our main market,” adding that if the situation eases soon and no further problems arise, the island “remains a very safe destination”.

He noted that the turmoil in the Middle East and the temporary closure of airports in the region had caused turbulence for Cyprus tourism, with the biggest impact felt in Limassol and Paphos because of flight cancellations.

Even so, Michaelides struck a cautiously optimistic note, arguing that the market could recover.

Flights to and from the Middle East, including Israel, had inevitably led to cancellations, he said, given the importance of that market for Cyprus.

At the same time, he stressed that air links with Europe had continued without interruption, helping preserve the normal flow of visitors to the island.

“The flight schedule to Europe continues uninterrupted and this is very important,” he said, because it allows tourist flows to Cyprus to continue.

He added that concern had also risen during the period of the incident involving the British bases, prompting further cancellations.

Still, Michaelides cautioned against drawing firm conclusions too early, noting that only a few days had passed since the events unfolded.

Tourism, he remarked, is traditionally sensitive to geopolitical shocks, but tends to recover relatively quickly.

In that context, he said the timing was significant, as the crisis had struck at the start of the summer season, leaving room for a rebound if conditions stabilise soon.

Cyprus, he added, remains an important destination for European travellers, particularly the British, while he also voiced confidence that the Israeli market would recover quickly once flights resume.

Referring to Israel, Michaelides said Cyprus had seen similar patterns before, with air traffic briefly disrupted during periods of crisis before tourist flows resumed once services restarted.

Regarding Easter, he said there could be some limited impact, particularly as Catholic Easter falls early this year, on the first weekend of April, but maintained that the broader concern remained the rest of the summer season.

“If the situation normalises soon, I believe that demand will also recover,” he said.

“If April begins normally,” he added, the season could still develop at usual levels, especially after two strong years for the sector.

Michaelides also pointed to regional differences, saying the areas most immediately affected were Limassol and Paphos, where hotels operate year-round and cancellations linked to flight disruptions were recorded at once.

By contrast, he added, the impact was more limited in the free district of Famagusta, where many hotels are more seasonal and several have yet to open.

There was, however, some relief on the aviation front.

Hermes Airports said on Monday that Cyprus’ air links with Europe had been restored, while Emirates had resumed flights between Dubai and Larnaca.

Haris Papacharalambous, president of the association of Cyprus travel and tourism agents (Actta), said that after the return of flights from Britain and services operated by Lufthansa Group, Cyprus’ connectivity with key visitor markets was normalising.

Papacharalambous added that hotel booking trends were expected to move in the same direction.