Reservations over past weekend were quite encouraging and for the next three-day Clean Monday weekend they seem to be equally good, the Director General of the Cyprus Hotel Association Christos Angelides has said, while also highlighting the need to extend the tourist season.
Asked how the hotel industry performed over the past two weeks and how the Clean Monday three-day weekend is expected to perform, Angelides told CNA said that "the truth is that the reservations from the information we had were quite encouraging for the past three weeks."
Also, "the weather helped. It was a sunny day on both Saturday and Sunday. After the rains, there was also the festive spirit and the children's carnival parades in Nicosia, Paphos, Limassol, and our compatriots took advantage of it for short getaways and thus high levels of overnight stays were recorded in all cities," he added.
Regarding the coming weekend, Angelides continued, the prospects appear to be just as good.
"Judging from the information we have, starting from Friday, Saturday and Sunday, several hotels will also provide organised menus for Clean Monday, so this is also a lure for customers to remain within the premises or gardens of the hotels, which will be convenient for them, so it is a pleasant juncture. Together with the rains we have had and will have, they make up a pleasant February, I would say," he noted.
When asked if he is generally happy with the traffic in hotels so far in 2026, Angelides said that no one can be happy with the 25% and 30% bookings, "but it is what we say we need to build on."
"We must remain open as a hotel industry, so that people inside and outside Cyprus get used to the fact that there are opportunities, there are spaces where parties can be held, conferences, external meetings, large events." So, he said, time and patience are needed.
"I think we are on the right track, flights to Cyprus have also increased from smaller countries such as Armenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland, and there is also a steady flow from the United Kingdom and Israel, as well as we see a timid growth from Germany, which is also encouraging," Angelides noted.
He also said that winter tourism or year-round tourism "must be an issue for all of us, it cannot involve just the hotels."
"Everything needs to stay open, the whole country needs to operate, including our restaurants, museums, and events. If possible, we should gather more events during the winter period, that is, from November to April, to make this season more interesting, in a systematic manner, and with love."
"I believe that Cyprus has a lot to give and that the hotel and tourism industry has a lot to offer to the real economy of the country," he concluded.
(Source: CNA)
