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The Tourism Ministry for Cyprus was created in January to give tourism—one of the key contributors to the island’s economy—dedicated focus and attention. The government then appointed Savvas Perdios, a leader with specialized education and extensive work experience in hospitality and tourism, as Minister.
Perdios will be a speaker at the Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H) this October, leading a delegation from the Cyprus Ministry of Tourism, which is a sponsor. In advance of the conference, Perdios shared his insights on the record numbers of visitors to Cyprus, ensuring the sustainable growth of the tourism industry and why the Akamas Peninsula is the "hidden gem" of Cyprus.
How is the current leisure and tourism environment in Cyprus?
Since 2015, Cyprus has been posting record numbers in tourism, with arrivals increasing by more than 50 percent in that period. We currently welcome 4 million visitors per year to our island, which—when compared to the number of our inhabitants—represents one of the highest visitor-to-inhabitant ratios in the world. The world average is 0.17:1, the European average is 0.67:1, the Mediterranean average is 1.5:1, and our average is 4.5:1. So things are going very well!
Recent data show a marginal (0.6 percent) decline in revenue from tourism in February for Cyprus, the first decline in 10 months. Are you concerned?
Yes and no. We are concerned in the sense that revenue from our traditional source markets is dropping slightly, either due to less demand or to shorter...