A gradual improvement in hotel bookings, however they are still moving at lower levels than expected for the period, chairman of the Cyprus Hoteliers Association (Pasyxe) Thanos Michaelides said on Sunday.

“We are at lower levels than we should have been for the month of May,” he said, adding that a similar picture is expected for June.

“Compared to March, there is of course an improvement in the flow of bookings, but we are still at lower levels than we should be,” he told the Cyprus News Agency.

Referring to the bookings for the months of July and August, Michailides said the gap caused by a halt in bookings in March has not been closed.

However, he added that “because there is a lot of last-minute bookings, we hold out hope that if there is an upward trend in bookings in June for July and August, we may have better results than we see now.

“We need to monitor the situation constantly to have a more correct forecast of how the summer season will develop,” he added.

He said the Israeli market is also very important for Cyprus.

“Now the Israeli market is starting to move. We hope that this flow from Israel will continue. It is a market that has quick reflexes and we hope there will be an upward trend,” he said.

“The human factor is what makes the difference in the tourism industry, which can set Cyprus apart from other tourist destinations,” he said, adding that staff are the “most important part of the tourism industry”.

He said the fall in bookings attributed to the crisis in the Middle East has caused a problem for staff.

“The government has responded positively to our request for human resources support for the month of April,” he said.

Meanwhile, prices on the island remain competitive, Michaelides said.

“Due to the situation, several hoteliers have also given additional discounts to tour operators,” he said.

He said that as special prices have been given for domestic tourists hotels are hoping to see an increase in demand.