Cyprus eyes French tourism rebound as airlines add more seats for 2027

Cyprus expects a stronger flow of French tourists in 2027 as airlines add capacity between the two countries, Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis said after talks with tour operators at the IFTM Top Resa exhibition in Paris. The expectations come after a difficult year for the French market, which has been among the hardest hit of Cyprus’ main tourism sources during 2026. In August alone, arrivals from France almost halved to 8,453, down 46 per cent from 15,663 a year earlier, according to figures released this week by the statistical service (Cystat). French arrivals were also almost 50 per cent below August 2024, when Cyprus welcomed 16,798 visitors from the country. The wider tourism market has also remained below last year’s levels, with 2.82 million visitors arriving in Cyprus between January and August, 7 per cent fewer than during the same period of 2025. Against that backdrop, Koumis used Cyprus’ participation at the Paris exhibition to meet senior executives from tour operators running holiday programmes to the island, with discussions focusing heavily on prospects for 2027. According to the Tourism Deputy Ministry, the talks covered the performance of the French market in recent years and the decline recorded in 2026 following geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Attention has now shifted to next year, with the ministry saying a significant increase is expected as the number of airline seats available between France and Cyprus rises. The meetings also covered efforts by the Cypriot tourism industry to adapt the island’s offering more closely to the preferences of French visitors, alongside promotional activity aimed at strengthening Cyprus’ presence in the market. “The French market is undoubtedly an extremely important market for our country’s tourism,” Koumis said, adding that it had effectively re-emerged in Cyprus only a few years ago and still had room to grow. He described France as a market with its own distinctive characteristics, requiring a more specialised and comprehensive approach from the tourism sector. Koumis said the Cypriot delegation was leaving Paris satisfied, particularly because of the improvement in air connectivity. “It is now clear that air connectivity between France and Cyprus is improving significantly, which is a basic prerequisite for the further growth of the market,” he said. He added that the government now expected more French visitors next year, while stressing that Cyprus’ responsibility was to provide them with “excellent hospitality”. Koumis also attended the opening ceremony of IFTM Top Resa as a guest of his French counterpart Serge Papin, who later visited the Cyprus stand. This year’s IFTM Top Resa exhibition ran from September 15 to 17 at Paris Porte de Versailles. The trade event brings together leisure, business and MICE tourism professionals and represents 177 destinations, 1,650 brands and more than 32,000 tourism professionals, according to organisers. During his visit, Koumis also met Egyptian Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy, with the two sides reaffirming cooperation between Cyprus and Egypt in tourism and discussing the possibility of developing closer ties. The deputy minister also gave interviews to French media, presenting Cyprus’ tourism offering, its infrastructure and services and the government’s efforts to develop specialised forms of tourism. He also discussed the tourism difficulties Cyprus has faced this year following instability in the wider region, which hit arrivals particularly hard during the spring before the overall decline narrowed during the summer.