Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis has elaborated on the Deputy Ministry's strategy for the new year, the challenges that the tourism sector faces, and Paphos's significant contribution to the development of tourism.
During a 12 January meeting with the local authorities Paphos district, Koumis described 2025 as the best year for tourism in the history of Cyprus, emphasising that the main goal of the Deputy Ministry is to ensure that this success continues.
As he said, a prerequisite for maintaining this positive trend is to provide an excellent tourist experience for all visitors.
During the meeting, plans and innovations for the new year were presented, while suggestions were made for addressing long-standing problems.
"What matters is that the individual destinations in our country continue to operate smoothly and offer quality services. For this reason, we seek continuous communication not only with local authorities but with everyone involved in the tourism ecosystem," said the Deputy Minister.
On his part, the Mayor of Paphos Phedonas Phedonos described 2025 as a "very good year," noting that this year's data send optimistic messages for the future planning of tourism in the region. As he said during his meeting with the Deputy Minister of Tourism, this progress must continue with proper planning in order to maintain and strengthen the success of recent years.
Phedonos said he highlighted to the Deputy Minister of Tourism the need to shift the focus from 2026 onwards from quantity to quality.
At the same time, the Mayor of Paphos requested the contribution and close monitoring by the Deputy Minister of Tourism in three projects of key importance, which, as he stressed, should start in 2026 within the district of Paphos. These are, he continued, the Paphos marina, the road connecting the tourist area with the airport, and the completion of the Paphos airport expansion.
In conclusion, Phedonos pointed out that the Deputy Minister of Tourism must exert the necessary pressure so that 2026 will be the year when projects begin to be implemented and not yet another year of maturation and planning, as has been the case, according to him, over the last ten to twenty years.
(Source: CNA)
