HOTELIERS were yesterday pessimistic about prospects for tourism this year, but Minister Nicos Rolandis said it would not be a worse year than the last, either in terms of arrivals or of revenue.
Addressing the annual general meeting of the Hoteliers’ Association (PASYXE), its chairman Avgerinos Nikitas said reservations to Cyprus and other destinations were not going well. “The indications are that we have an especially difficult year ahead of us,” he said, adding the difficulties called for more competitiveness “to ensure survival and that of the work force”.
Nikitas said the island’s forthcoming accession to the EU and its harmonisation with the rules of the bloc meant that all those involved in the industry would be forced to examine the way they operated.
“The end goal of this effort cannot be other than to secure the well being of the hotel industry and its human resources on a solid foundation considering the importance of the tourist industry to the island’s financial development,” Nikitas said.
Rolandis also stressed the importance of tourism to the island’s economy. He said growth in tourism was the most important element in the development of the economy.
But repeating statements made to the Cyprus Mail two weeks ago, Rolandis said that growth in revenue from tourism had far outstripped arrivals over the past four years. “It shows the biggest growth in any sector of the economy if not bigger than all the other sectors put together,” Rolandis said.
Tourism revenue last year increased 7.0 per cent to £1.27 billion, even though arrivals showed only a small rise of 0.4 per cent due to the fallout of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US.
Rolandis said that had it not been for September 11, Cyprus tourism would have grown 60 per cent over the past four years instead of the 51 per cent he quoted.
For this year, Rolandis repeated that during a recent meeting of tourism ministers in Madrid the indications had been that the first half of the year would show a fall in arrivals but the second half of the year would buck the trend.
“The indications are that it will not be worse than last year, either in terms of arrivals or revenue,” Rolandis said. He added early reports suggested the European market was down but that the British market, which accounts for over 50 per cent of arrivals to Cyprus, was picking up.
The Minister added that a new plan of action was being drawn up following a meeting last week with all the organisations involved in the sector. The plan is expected to be ready by early next week, Rolandis said.
Some 2.69 million tourists visited Cyprus last year, compared to 2.68 million in 2000. Forecasts had been for five to eight per cent growth to around three million visitors, and had been on target until September 11.
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.
