Tourism Minister finds positive signs for 2024 at London WTM

Cyprus’ Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis has said that the signals he has received for the country’s sector in 2024 are “optimistic”, with strategic partners intending to increase capacity and already talking about expanding the period into the winter.

Speaking at the World Travel Market in London on 6 November, the Deputy Minister underlined Cyprus’s “dynamic presence” for yet another year in one of the top two events for tourism professionals. 

Cyprus is being represented by dozens of tourism enterprises and local authorities’ stands, attracting big crowds on the first day of the event on 6 November.

Koumis himself had already arranged 35 appointments during his visit in London, both on mass and thematic tourism.

He said that the promising signals for 2024 come after an “undoubtedly very good year”, which is still underway since visitors are still travelling to seaside resorts “with good occupancy rates”.

As he noted, arrivals in 2023 are 24% up on 2022 and there has also been “a significant increase” on revenue.

One of the bets for Cypriot tourism is the expansion of the tourism period, “so that Cyprus can gradually become an all-year-round destination.”

Asked by the Cyprus News Agency about the concern cited in the British and European press about the impact of climate change on traditional tourists’ trends, the Deputy Minister stressed that “climate conditions have already changed; this is not a discussion about the future, but about now, and as a consequence there are new trends emerging.”

He noted that the Deputy Ministry has organised seminars and is trying to instill into all stakeholders in the country’s tourism industry the understanding of the importance of sustainability initiatives and environment protection sensitivity.

The Cypriot government and the Deputy Ministry, added Koumis, have also announced incentives of “green character” for hotels and other tourism establishments, that will assist them in the process of green transition.

“It is very important for all of us to realise that trends are changing and that climate change is a real threat,” Koumis pointed out.

The Deputy Minister also said that the conflict in the Middle East has so far not affected the tourism industry of other countries in the region, and expressed the hope that “these very unpleasant events” would soon come to an end.

As far as Cyprus is concerned, he said that part of his mission at the WTM is to convey the message that the country sends out about being “a most safe destination”.

(Source: CNA)