November tourist figures up 12 per cent

By Jean Christou

TOURIST arrivals rose by nearly 12 per cent in November statistics released yesterday reveal.

According to the figures, 118,105 tourists arrived on the island in November, compared to 105,773 in the same month last year.

The increase is good news for the tourist industry, which is making unprecedented efforts to up the winter tourist flow to the island.

It also helps the industry realise its projections for an overall 1999 increase of ten per cent.

So far this year, tourist arrivals have reached 2.35 million, compared to 2.14 million last year. By the end of the year, it is hoped that a total of 2.4 million tourists will have visited the island.

Over 46 per cent of this year’s arrival came from the UK. Germany comes in second with 15.8 per cent, followed by Greece with 4.5 per cent, Russia 4.3 per cent, Sweden 2.8 per cent and Finland 2.7 per cent. The overwhelming majority of tourist arrivals, 82 per cent, are from EU countries.

Prospects for 2000 are said to be even better, particulary from the UK, where indications show a possible 10-12 per cent increase on 1999.

The government is aiming to expand tourism by increasing winter tourism rather than continuing to build on the existing summer trade, which is already stretched to its limits during the peak June-September season. In August, monthly arrivals can reach close to 300,000, the current maximum capacity.

Cyprus has the capacity comfortably to accommodate around 200,000 tourists per month but winter arrivals usually number less than half that figure.

Last week, the cabinet approved a series of measures to help increase arrivals between November and March by offering lucrative incentives and subsidies to foreign tour operators.

The measures are expected to be approved by parliament in time for operators to put together their winter packages for the 2000/2001 season.

One of the biggest problems facing winter tourism is the closure of bars and restaurants, which refuse to stay open unless they are guaranteed clients. Tour operators on the other hand do not want to put `dead’ resorts on their brochures.

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.