• Hotel bookings in Cyprus for July and August range around 85%, showing a drop of 10-15% compared to last year.

• Increased energy costs and ongoing regional conflicts directly affect tourism, keeping airfares high.

• The Association of Cyprus Travel & Tourism Agents estimates that this year will close with an overall reduction in overnight stays of around 12-14% compared to the previous year.

• Free Famagusta has been hit the hardest, while the negative linkage of Cyprus with the war situation hindered this year's tourism campaign.

• Despite the decrease, increased demand is recorded from last-minute bookings, with stakeholders hoping for a recovery during the autumn period.

The average hotel bookings across Cyprus in July and August range around 85%, noticeably lower compared to last year, Director General of the Cyprus Hotel Association (PASYXE), Christos Angelides, told CNA on Monday, noting that increased energy costs due to conflicts leave a visible impact on the sector.

Similarly, President of the Association of Cyprus Travel & Tourism Agents (ACTTA), Haris Papacharalambous, told CNA that every time conflicts resume in the region, the impact on the tourism sector "is felt immediately," estimating that overall the year will close around 12-14% lower compared to last year, a record year for the tourism industry in Cyprus.

Asked about the progress of bookings this summer, Mr. Angelides told CNA that there is an improvement in the pace of bookings. "There is an increased demand on three-day weekends, especially from last-minute bookings, from neighboring countries and the local market, which improves the picture," he said.

He noted, however, that a question mark still remains for the time being regarding autumn, "which we always hope will recover, and we always remain on alert to react as appropriate."

Mr. Angelides noted that "recent events that we see raising energy costs and maintaining expensive ticket costs continue to be a point of concern for Cyprus that we must keep in mind."

As he said, an improvement was observed in arrivals from key markets; however, plenty of margin remains to bridge the gap compared to last year. "We are optimistic. We continue efforts as a private sector and industry in a team-oriented and organized manner," he stated.

Asked about the level of bookings in July and August, he said that the island-wide average in occupancies ranges around 85%. "We hope it will hold and rise," he noted, mentioning that compared to last year, a record year when occupancies in August reached up to 97%, this year they remain lower by 10-15%.

Regarding any increase in year-round tourism, and specifically bookings recorded in autumn, winter, and the first months of spring, Mr. Angelides said that "our big hope is that we will continue from where we left off last year, and that is where efforts are focused: on improving the five-month period of November 2026–April 2027. That will make the difference," he said, noting that as much as the picture improves in the coming months, it will cover the gap created at the start of the season.

"Despite the circumstances, hotel units, members of PASYXE, maintain their optimism and keep service and quality levels where they should be, to maintain the reputation we have built all these years," he said.

For his part, the President of ACTTA said that "we are down. Not by much, but behind compared to the corresponding months last year," noting that the free Famagusta area has been hit the hardest.

"Almost all markets are down compared to last year, with the exception of Israel, which for the month of June had an increase of 170% compared to last year," Mr. Papacharalambous stated, as in June 2025 conflict had erupted between Israel and Iran.

Asked what the biggest problem encountered by the Association during this year's campaign was, he said that the biggest problem was the issue of image and the association that had been made with the war situation following the drone crash at the British Bases in March, as well as the handling by media and social media.

He estimated that the picture this year will continue to remain slightly reduced, as it directly depends on developments. Asked if there was an impact from the lifting of the ceasefire between the US and Iran, he said that the impact "is felt immediately," "the next day," he said, although not to a large extent.

As he said, he considers that for the entire year, on an island-wide basis, overnight stays will be around 12-14% lower compared to last year.

Source: ink.com