Signs that things are looking up a bit for tourism

There is interest from people in Scandinavian countries and Switzerland in visiting Cyprus this summer, according to the Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios.

Speaking from Switzerland, where he is currently trying to make contacts in the tourism sector, Perdios said attracting new markets will offset some of the losses from Russia and war-torn Ukraine.

Prior to Switzerland, Perdios travelled to Sweden to hold talks with industry specialists and tour operators.

“We were targeting Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Switzerland for quite some time,” he said. “Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, these markets are now more important than ever.

“Early indications show us that the signs from Scandinavian countries and Switzerland are very good for this year, as we noticed from tour operators that the demand to visit Cyprus is very high, in some cases even higher than 2019,” Perdios said.

He also added that some popular destinations of recent years, such as Croatia and Bulgaria, seem to be on a downward trajectory, due in part to their proximity to the war zone.

“We are trying to offer Cyprus as a possible destination to alternative markets. Last week, for example Cyprus was the number one destination in bookings from Sweden.

“After the start of the conflict, bookings for Cyprus went down for about two weeks, but now they returned to normal levels and we are doing quite well,” Perdios said.

Earlier on Thursday, an announcement from the Finnish embassy in Cyprus said Finnair will commence direct flights from Larnaca to Helsinki from April 10.

According to a previous announcement by the airline, flights will be via Airbus A320/A321, twice a week, every Tuesday and Sunday, running April 10-October 23, 2022.

“After two years of being forced at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, people want to travel,” said Perdios, who added that the number of total flights to the island from Scandinavian countries in the summer will exceed the numbers registered in 2019.

German low-cost carrier Eurowings is also set to offer direct flights from Stockholm to Cyprus and chartered flights from Bern in Switzerland.

“Despite the difficulties posed by the war in Ukraine, it is still possible to have similar numbers in terms of visitors to 2021. This is what we are aiming for.”

Perdios is also expected to visit the UK, France and Poland in the upcoming weeks.