Turkey-Russia relations may hit tourism in Cyprus

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) is fearing a backlash on tourism on the island after relations warmed again recently between Russia and Turkey.

The CTO meeting on Tuesday, which was also attended by the Cyprus Hotel Association (CHA), Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (ACTE) and the Association of Cyprus Travel Agents (ACTA), was called to discuss the possible impact of the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and the normalisation of relations between Turkey with Russia and Israel on tourism in Cyprus.

According to CHA president Harris Loizides, the normalisation of ties between Russia and Turkey are the "more worrying"as charted flights have already started from various Russian airports to a number of destinations in Turkey. September and October could be especially problematic as Russian tourists tend to be impulsive, and therefore those that had in mind to travel to Cyprus, may by then decide to visit Turkey instead.

The British market on the other hand, for this year at least, due to the fact that most British tourists plan ahead, will, by and large, be unaffected as far as arrivals are concerned, but there is a small chance that revenue from this group will be lower.

Next years arrivals from the UK will generally be determined by the strength of the Sterling against the Euro, and whether the British economy will be in a recession or not.

Another parameter which should be examined, according to Loizides, is the need for bilateral agreements between Britain and Cyprus for flight links, as the EU open door policy will no longer apply to the UK.

The meeting concluded with the parties involved agreeing to form a crisis committee which will meet at regular intervals, and to maintain regular contact and to exchange information in order to coordinate their actions according to new developments.

Source: in-cyprus.com

Source: Turkey-Russia relations may hit tourism in Cyprus