The occupancy rate of leisure centres, encompassing restaurants, bars and night clubs, during New Year's Eve reached 100%, while the corresponding rate in hotels reached 60%, Neophytos Thrasyvoulou, President of the Pancyprian Association of Leisure Centre Owners (PASIKA), and Christos Angelides, General Manager of the Pancyprian Association of Hoteliers (PASYXE), have said, expressing their satisfaction.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), both noted that occupancy during Christmas was at lower levels, at least as far as the local market is concerned, because these are more family oriented holidays.
More people stayed in Cyprus for Christmas this year, N. Thrasyvoulou says
Speaking to CNA, Neophytos Thrasyvoulou, President of the Pancyprian Association of Leisure Centre Owners (PASIKA), said that the occupancy rates this year at Christmas was good but lower compared to New Year’s Eve because most people stayed at home and the weather conditions were not good. However, he added, on Boxing Day people moved to both the coast and the mountains.
Regarding New Year's, he noted that the situation "was much better in all the cities of Cyprus". "Nicosia took the lead with more shows and better presentations. Limassol followed due to population, but the other cities did not lag behind, since the businesses on the coast that remained open were full", he pointed out.
The President of PASIKA noted that on Christmas Eve, occupancy ranged from 80% to 85%, on Christmas Day it was 95%-100%, while on New Year's Day, occupancy started at 90%, reaching 100%.
Increased reservations from abroad, will increase due to Cyprus Presidency, Ch. Angelides says
In a statement to CNA, Christos Angelides, General Director of the Pancyprian Hoteliers' Association (PASYXE), stated that on Christmas and New Year's Eve, as well as in the following days, "occupancy was very good, reaching up to 60%". On these days, he continued, "some of the hotels were almost full". There was also a lot of work from the local market for holiday packages, namely New Year's Eve and daily events, he noted.
The highest occupancy was observed in the beach hotels, especially on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Angelides pointed out. Regarding Christmas, he said, "we have noticed over time that although there is occupancy at least from the local market, these are mostly family holidays, not so many people go to the hotels". Despite this, as he said, "we had increased reservations this year from abroad due to the greater number of flights from Poland, Germany and Israel, as well as from the United Kingdom.
Asked whether the increased flow from the international market could also be attributed to the start of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union from the beginning of 2026, Angelides said that "we will be able to say this for the coming months, when we will have tangible results". "The only thing certain is that we will have more visitors. What we do not know is whether along with this (their stay for work) the officials or others who will come for the Cyprus Presidency will also take a day or two to rest or for a tour of Cyprus," noted.
(Source: CNA)
