Cyprus’ return to the normal level of travel guidance by the US and Britain is a positive development that could help limit the losses recorded so far this tourist season, Association of Cyprus Travel and Tourism Agents (Actta) president Charis Papacharalambous said.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Papacharalambous said the downgrade of Cyprus’ travel guidance to level 1 by both countries had helped restore confidence in the destination, although the impact of the previous warnings had already been felt.

“On the contrary, three months have already been lost. Within these three months, I believe that, more or less, the image of the country that nothing is going on has been restored,” he said.

Referring to the latest figures on tourist arrivals, the Acta president said the decline was gradually easing.

“As time goes by, the decrease in arrivals is decreasing,” he said, adding that “I believe that this will continue until the end of the season”.

Even so, Papacharalambous said it was “almost certain” that arrivals would remain in negative territory compared with last year, at least until the summer period begins.

At that point, he said, there may be some scope for airlines to revise their flight schedules, although any recovery would depend not only on demand but also on the number of available seats to Cyprus.

“It is not only a matter of demand, it is also a matter of air seats for Cyprus, especially since you cannot visit it in any other way,” he said.

He added that, with air seats for Cyprus reduced this summer, even slightly, compared with last year, it would be difficult to expect an increase in arrivals.

“Since the air seats are reduced for the summer this year – even by a small percentage – compared to last year, it is difficult for anyone to expect that there will be an increase in arrivals,” Papacharalambous said.

The Actta president explained that the reduction in airline capacity was linked to earlier regional developments, noting that after the events of February 28 in Iran, several airlines adjusted their flight planning.

However, he said such changes are difficult to reverse in the middle of the summer season, as aircraft that were initially planned for Cyprus may already have been allocated elsewhere.

“Several companies proceeded to plan their flights, which will be very difficult to diversify in the middle of summer because these planes are employed somewhere else,” he concluded.