The assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU by Cyprus constitutes a historic event for our country which is expected to have positive influences in various levels and fields, President Demetris Christofias has said, adding that “our tourist product is included in these fields.”
The EU Presidency constitutes a “golden opportunity to project our country abroad as a considerable tourist destination with a high level of services,” Christofias added.
Addressing the Annual Meeting of Cyprus Hotel Association, Christofias assured that “we will all make our outmost to achieve this great goal and to create excellent impressions in every aspect for our country and our people to those who will visit us.
He underlined that tourism constitutes a fundamental pillar of the economy of Cyprus and underlined that the tourist field constitutes priority for the government and will remain a priority.
Christofias said that 2011 was an excellent year for tourism, since there was a major increase in tourist arrivals that reached 10%, while the increase of income reached 12.5%. He also noted that overnight stays reached 14,285,000.
Referring to this year, he noted that despite the reduced bookings from the UK and Germany, there has been an improvement of the situation after efforts which have been made.
He noted that there is stability as regards the Scandinavian market while an impressive increase is expected from the Russian market. According to Christofias, arrivals of Russian tourists in Cyprus have been tripled during the last years as a result of the excellent relations with Russia at the economic, political and cultural level.