HOTELIERS yesterday hinted that tourism chiefs were spinning figures to give a better picture of the current situation in the sector, particularly with regards to revenue.
Yesterday morning, Tourism Minister George Lillikas said in a radio interview that tourism revenue for the first three months of the year was up by 2.8 per cent, but Hoteliers’ Association Director-general Zacharias Ioannides said the actual data painted a different picture.
Revenue has been a contentious issue for the island’s tourism for the past three years, dropping from an all-time high of £1.27 billion in 2001 to only £988 million last year. Arrivals have been slowly climbing back, but revenue appears to be still lower than it should be.
According to CTO figures for the first three months, arrivals rose ten per cent, while revenue has risen on average for the three months by only 2.8 per cent.
A closer examination of the data shows that revenue was down five per cent in January and 7.6 per cent in February. It did rise in March by 13.2 per cent, which, when added to the other two months and averaged out, gives the impression of a steady increase.
However, the CTO also said yesterday that arrivals were down in April by four per cent. The revenue for April, which will not be available until next week, is therefore likely to be down at least five per cent based on previous trends.
A CTO spokesman said the reasons for revenue reduction, even if arrivals were up, was a complicated issue relating to spending per tourist, duration of stay and other factors. The spokesman said the fact that arrivals were down in April was not a cause for concern, as April was often an unpredictable month.
The government and the CTO expects a five per cent increase in tourism arrivals this year, but hoteliers appear to think it’s a little early for reliable projections.
They say a projection for the full year can only be made when the figures for April and May are in. “This will be a more normal comparison,” said Ioannides.
He said the data did not support the argument that revenue was conclusively on the way up, despite the spin that was being put on it.
“It is not a sound basis for valid projections to be made,” said Ioanndies, adding that 80 per cent of the island’s tourism revenue comes in between May and October.
Commenting on April’s drop in arrivals, Ioanndies said the month showed a drop because this year the Western Easter had been in March. It usually falls in April.
“So April to April is not a fair comparison in the same way it was not correct to blow the trumpets because March this year was up 23 per cent when last year the Catholic Easter was in April,” he said.
