Tourism will continue to suffer as long as prices stay high

Sir,

Regarding the letters to your newspaper concerning the cost of holidays to Cyprus from the UK.

The following is a classic example of why Cyprus is suffering and will continue to suffer due to the pricing policy of airlines and the local landing fees.

A week ago I was looking for a flight to Paphos from Bristol at the beginning of September 2008.

Thomsonfly was offering a flight for £399 return for two weeks with 20kg of luggage per person. However, Continental Airlines was offering a flight to New York from Bristol for £316 return for three weeks with 46kgs of luggage per person.

Both have all the inherent costs associated with flying these days (airport fees, fuel etc) and the Continental flight is over three hours longer each way. One can only assume that the tour operators are gouging the customers.

As you can guess I am off to the US touring for three weeks enjoying the $2 to the £1.

Peter Bean,
Devon, UK

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.