CTO pleased with increased tourism

THE Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) yesterday expressed its satisfaction with the number of incoming tourists reported during June 2008.

The announcement issued by the CTO said the total increase in tourist arrivals for the month reached 8.8 per cent, while in the period January-June 2008 the increase was 2.7 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The CTO said it was particularly satisfied with increased arrivals from key markets for Cypriot tourism. More precisely, there was an increase of 19.5 per cent from Russia, 17.6 per cent from Sweden, 42.4 per cent from Norway, 34.4 per cent from Finland, 19.4 per cent from Denmark, 63.2 per cent from Belgium/Luxemburg and 4.7 per cent from Greece.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom – Cyprus’ biggest market – also saw a marked increase of 7.7 per cent during June, cancelling out the decrease observed during the period January-June.

The CTO notes, however, that the UK market faces various difficulties. “The basic problem is the economic situation in Britain and the weakening of the sterling’s buying strength against the euro,” says the CTO.

However, the CTO announced that it would continue working intensively in order to improve results as far as possible, especially during the coming winter season.

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.