Cyprus has “no room for growth” in terms of its summer tourism figures, Tourism Deputy Minister Costas Koumis said on Friday.
Addressing the House finance committee as it deliberated his deputy ministry’s budget, he said the island’s tourism is seeing a “balanced increase” in the number of people holidaying on the island – a fact he described as “healthy” for the tourism sector.
He added that occupancy rates throughout the summer this year were “very high”, and that as such, “we have no room for further growth, especially in our country’s coastal areas”.
He had earlier told the committee that tourism figures are set to hit a record high this year, with the number of arrivals on the island in the first ten months of the year up 4.6 per cent compared to last year, and up 0.8 per cent compared to 2019, the current annual record holder.
In economic terms, this increase in arrivals has seen tourism’s contribution to Cyprus’ gross domestic product grow from 10.9 per cent last year to an estimated 13.5 per cent in 2024.
Koumis added that the average tourist so far this year has spent a total of €90 per day, but is now staying on the island for just 8.56 days, compared to 9.59 days in 2022.
With this in mind, his ministry has filed for a budget of just over €65.5 million. This constitutes an actual increase of a little over €900,000 compared to last year’s budget, but he said €12m which had previously been allocated to hosting Ukrainian refugees and unaccompanied minors will now be reallocated, freeing up the extra money.
This budget, he said, “reflects the government’s commitment to further upgrading tourism in this country and our commitment to transitioning to a model which promotes the principles of sustainability.”
He also highlighted the positive impact on the country and increase in tourism numbers has had, saying, “the future of thousands of households depends on tourism’s course”, and that “this excellent course in recent years … confirms the good choices and the resilience of our product, despite the challenges we face.”
He said his deputy ministry’s goal is to “stabilise tourism at high performance”, and “further increase tourism’s contribution to the country’s economy”.
To this end, he said he is “updating” Cyprus’ tourism strategy to last until 2045, which he says will allow for “the further development, enrichment, and upgrading of the tourism product, through incentive plans and the promotion of major projects”.
These major projects, he said, include the Paphos marina, and offering further education to those who work in the tourism industry.
