CYPRIOT tourism has seen a significant increase in outbound holiday travel over the past two years, especially evident during the summer months with crowded airports and increased spending bearing witness to the trend.
While the Cyprus Hotel Association (CHA) says that there is an increasing trend in inland domestic tourism, there is also a large number of Cypriots who prefer to spend their holidays abroad. Package deals for summer holidays are proving a particularly enticing offer, with many Cypriots finding the costs of an organised overseas holiday are actually cheaper than booking in to a hotel during peak season at home.
The price for a single room bed and breakfast at a three or four-star hotel in Cyprus’ main resorts stands around €80-€150 this summer, while a similar double room can range as high as €230-€440. Lunch and dinner are extra costs that run around €10-€30 per meal.
Meanwhile, package deals for organised holidays abroad offered by a travel agency range around €1,000 for about 7 days. Fir example, booking on a group trip to Malta for 5 days would cost around €550 for a double room, while a trip to Russia for 8 days would cost a couple around €1,350. Package deals to more exotic places such as Thailand, Bangkok and Phuket, would cost a couple €1,600 for 12 days, while a 5-7 day cruise around the Greek islands would cost around €550-€960.
The trend was confirmed by the General Secretary of the Association of Cyprus Travel Agencies (ACTA), Tassos Katsourides, who said yesterday that in the past couple of years there had been an increase in outbound tourism reaching 50 per cent, while a few years ago this was only 10 per cent.
“Package deals cost less without reducing the quality of the services offered,” Katsourides added.
Cypriots prefer package deals not only because they are cheaper but also because everything is pre-organised. Setting off for a holiday knowing everything is already taken care of enhances the feeling of relaxation a holiday is supposed to bring.
As for the destinations abroad that are preferred by Cypriots, Katsourides said “Greece leading by far, then Great Britain, and Central and Northern Europe”.
He said that lately there was an increasing trend in travelling to other countries as well, such as Russia, Rumania, Bulgaria.
“Short cruises to the Middle East and certainly to the Greek islands are also very much preferred,” he said.
“There is also an increase in travel further afield, such as to the Far East, to America and to exotic islands in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans,” Katsourides continued.
He added that “in addition to these organised travel packages, there is also the offer of a tailor-made package made by the customer in association with the travel agent. The customer tells his/her agent what kind of services s/he wants included and also of the budget s/he is willing to spend and the agent makes the appropriate arrangements. This may include a hotel half-board or full-board, a trip around the area and even transfer arrangements from and to the airport.
“Custom-made packages, however, do not abide to the same law as organised package trips, but they are all-year round deals,” Katsourides said.
The General Manager of the CHA added that “Cypriots are of our finest customers and they spend generously”. Katsourides confirmed this by saying that “Cypriots travel all year and fear nothing, not even escalating costs”. He even said that “it is very likely that Cypriots are among the top countries in Europe regarding their population who travel so much”. He said that according to the 2007 statistics the number of total outbound trips made by Cypriots reached 1,080,512, an increase of 15.9 per cent on the previous year. Of these, 712,612 were holiday trips, marking an increase of 19.1 per cent. “The same trend is noticeable this year as well and further increases are also noted,” said Katsourides.
As for the money Cypriots spend while abroad, Katsourides said that in 2007 reports indicated a total expenditure on outbound holidays of some £530 million (including airplane costs). “This was a very important increase of 50.6 per cent in comparison to the previous year,” he said.
Credit card clearing agency JCC reported that €81,112,257 was spent in transactions abroad during the month of July 2008, an increase of 30 per cent on the same time last year.
However, package deals also make enticing offers to foreigners for visiting Cyprus and sea-side resorts are fully-booked during the summer months. An all inclusive price of around £1,000 sterling allows tourists to spend a week in a three or four-star hotel, consuming unlimited food or drink within the package price.
