The prospects for the next season are extremely positive, Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis has said, pointing out that the main goal now is to increase visitor numbers during the winter season, something they are working very hard to achieve.
Cyprus has a strong presence once again at the World Travel Market, the international tourism exhibition taking place at London’s ExCeL and one of the largest events in the global travel industry, featuring more than 5,000 exhibitors from 180 countries and attracting around 45,000 tourism professionals from all over the world.
The first day brought optimistic messages for Cyprus. As Koumis — who attended the exhibition — noted, his series of meetings with tour operators and airlines concluded with complete satisfaction, and the prospects for the next tourism season are also extremely positive.
In statements to the media late on 4 November Koumis expressed optimism about Cyprus’s ability to attract visitors year-round, including during winter.
“We are here every year as part of the exhibition, meeting with our country’s strategic partners. The feedback we received from these discussions was very positive — both regarding how much our visitors enjoyed their stay over the summer and how we can prepare to make next year, 2026, just as successful. From our meetings, it’s clear that everyone is very pleased,” Koumis noted.
He also said that the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and the government “will do everything possible to maintain this momentum, aiming for even further growth of our tourism product."
"What matters most to us is strengthening the winter tourism period,” the Minister said, stressing that “this summer we essentially reached the peak — something clearly reflected in the figures and various assessments."
According to Koumis, "it is worth noting that Cyprus recorded the highest increase in hotel overnight stays among all European countries between 2023 and 2024. We are also the country with the highest revenue growth among all Mediterranean European nations,” the Deputy Minister underlined.
Finally, he highlighted that “our main goal now is to increase visitor numbers during the winter season — something we are working very intensively to achieve,” he concluded.
(Source: CNA)
