Flight schedules to Paphos airport, particularly from Israel, have returned to normal following recent disruptions.

However, hotel reservations in the district have yet to recover from the impact of the recent hostilities in the Middle East and the unrest caused by a drone strike near the British bases in Akrotiri.

Hotel association Pasyxe president Thanos Michaelides told local media that although the situation has generally stabilised, the UK foreign office travel advisory for Cyprus remains in place, while tourists from other western and northern European countries are still hesitant about holidaying on the island.

Michaelides said as long as the UK warning is in place, insurance companies are treating Cyprus as a high-risk destination, making travel insurance more expensive for British tourists.

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He expressed hope that conditions would improve so the tourism sector could recover fully for the remainder of the season.

At Paphos airport, flights are now normalised, although aircraft are not yet as full as they would normally be at this time of year.

Figures released by the Statistical Service on Monday showed tourist arrivals in April fell sharply to 303,031, compared with 418,730 in April last year, a decline of 27.6 per cent.

Pasyxe director general Christos Angelides said the flow of bookings had improved but remained far below expectations.

“The flow has improved, but for now it is not enough to cover the gap created by cancellations and the period we lost,” he conceded.

He said March and April had effectively been lost for the tourism industry and warned that May was also underperforming compared with forecasts and last year’s figures.

“The days are passing and it seems, unfortunately, that we will not have the results of May which we were all planning, either as individuals or as a country,” he said.

Angelides called for “an aggressive strategy in the markets with a combination of weapons” including online campaigns, cooperation with airlines and hosting travel agents, journalists and influencers.

“We must do everything at an excellent level for a very long time in order to remove the veil of uncertainty that has fallen on Cyprus,” he said.

He added that occupancy rates this summer were currently between 40 and 60 per cent, compared with 80 to 85 per cent in previous years, while booking flows were “around five to six times lower”.

Industry figures showed the UK remained Cyprus’ largest tourism market in April with 118,742 visitors, followed by Poland, Germany, Israel and Greece.

Holiday travel still accounted for most visits, although the proportion fell to 73 per cent from more than 80 per cent a year earlier, reflecting changing travel patterns amid security concerns and weaker consumer confidence.

“There is no need to panic,” Angelides assured.

“We are the industry of joy, life and optimism and we must not forget that.”