The lack of British tourists visiting Cyprus in March shows that there has been no let-up in the recent decline of tourism. Recent figures show British tourist arrivals fell a huge 13.7 per cent in March.
Overall, tourism levels fell 2.6 per cent year on year in March for the sixth consecutive month. But the drop from the UK was particularly noticeable since British tourists made up nearly 60 per cent of last year’s 2.4 million arrivals. The British market accounts for more than half of all tourists in Cyprus, but has been hit by both high interest rates at home, higher airfares to Cyprus as a result of rising energy prices and a long-running continuation of high airport charges. Other holiday options in the same region are also cited as a reason for a drop in British tourism.
The demise of Ajet Airlines has also meant a fall in capacity, which is only now being revived with newcomers such as Monarch. Cyprus Hoteliers Association chairman Haris Loizides claimed it was going to “take a miracle to reverse the situation in the next few months if the British market continues to go down like this”.
Revenue has also been falling. Although revenue was up 2.2 per cent to £1.027 billion in 2006, it fell 7.1 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively in the first two months of this year.
The island’s second biggest market, Germany was also down slightly in March but tourists from Russia were up 18.4% in the first quarter of 2007. Arrivals from Greece have also risen strongly, rising by 14.2% in the first quarter of 2007. The Swedish market has also grown strongly this year, with arrivals up by 12% year on year in the first quarter.
