There were no high expectations as regards tourist arrivals from the UK, since the country was placed in the Category B list and also because many visitors do not want to take the coronavirus test, Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios told CNA.

Furthermore, Perdios expressed satisfaction "with the high occupancy on WIZZ AIR flights", adding that this is one of the reasons why the Deputy Ministry sought to conclude an agreement with the company to establish a base in Cyprus.

He went on to say that the destinations to and from Cyprus include France, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Austria and Germany.

"These are markets that are fully in line with what we want to achieve at the Deputy Ministry of Tourism", he stressed.

The Deputy Minister said that it is important that the cooperation with this company began well, adding "we hope that it  will give a boost to the tourism sector, especially from 2021, since due to the difficult situation from the coronavirus pandemic, we needed something new".
 
Perdios said that there were no high expectations from the British market after the Cyprus government placed the country in the Category B list.

Despite the fact that it is now possible for British tourists to come to Cyprus if they have a negative COVID19 test at least 72 hours before their departure, however many people find it difficult to take the test, he said.

He pointed out that the British economy was affected to a greater extent due to the coronavirus compared to other European countries. UK GDP fell by 20% in the first half of 2020, while in most European countries GDP decline was around 12%, he said.

"Although we are happy that the British market opened as Category B country and despite the fact that yesterday a large tour operator began to bring tourists from the UK, namely Jet 2, with which we had concluded an agreement, our expectations are not high", he said.
 
He explained that it is still too early to assess the situation as regards Jet2, adding that the airline expects that in the first weeks the number of passengers will not be very high. Another factor, he said, is whether the passengers will stay in tourist accommodations or in their own holiday homes or with relatives and friends.

Concluding, he said that it is important that this airline was persuaded to include Cyprus in its flight programme, despite the fact that visitors need to take a coronavirus test in advance and the cost will be borne entirely by themselves.

(CNA)