Cyprus tourism minister remains optimistic for stronger second half of the year

Koumis defends Cyprus tourism performance amidst global challenges Tourism revenue figures for May and the first five months of 2026 confirmed that Cyprus tourism has returned to a stable recovery path, Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis said on Thursday, following the release of data by the Statistical Service. In a written statement sent to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Koumis said the 4.8 per cent decline in tourism revenue in May compared with 2025 was not excessive, while compared with 2024 the sector recorded growth of 14.4 per cent. “The statistical measurement confirms that the tourism sector is without doubt now on a stable path, and proves that the coordinated and targeted actions of the government, always in cooperation with our country’s tourism industry, had a positive impact on the sector,” Koumis said. Regarding the first five months of the year, the deputy minister said the overall revenue picture had improved by 7.4 percentage points compared with the first four months, which he said reflected the gradual and now established recovery of the sector. Commenting on the 16.5 per cent decline in tourism revenue during the January to May period compared with the previous year, Koumis estimated that the gap would continue to narrow as the year progresses. He pointed out that the decline had stood at 23.9 per cent the previous month, while the comparison between the first five months of 2026 and the same period in 2024 showed an increase of 6.3 per cent. “The situation must always be judged according to the circumstances in which it takes place. We were called upon to manage an unprecedented situation in recent months,” Koumis said, adding that a climate of uncertainty had dominated during that period. “We were essentially called upon to manage a very difficult situation in relation to tourism, the most difficult of recent decades,” he said. Koumis said the government’s priority had been to preserve Cyprus’ strong reputation as a destination by investing in every aspect of safety. He added that the main objective of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism had been to maintain flight capacity and organized travel programmes to Cyprus while limiting potential losses. “Maintaining close contact with the country’s strategic partners so they would retain their programmes, as well as sending messages about the safety that has characterised and continues to characterise our country as a tourism destination, were, I would say, the leading actions during the previous period,” Koumis said. “Several months later, the year is progressing quite well, taking into account the circumstances, and as the Deputy Ministry of Tourism we are working intensively so that the results of the second half of the year will be even better,” he added. The deputy minister also rejected suggestions that hotel occupancy rates of around 85 per cent should be considered low, arguing that comparisons should not be made exclusively with 2025, which was a record year for Cyprus tourism. He said average occupancy rates in several competing destinations during July were also around 85 per cent. “In Mallorca, for example, it is 80 per cent to 88 per cent, in Crete 85 per cent to 89 per cent, in Turkey 75 per cent to 90 per cent, in Egypt 80 per cent and so on,” Koumis said. Regarding Cyprus, he said the nationwide average occupancy rate in July 2025 stood at 81.4 per cent, noting that the figure was affected by districts with lower visitor numbers. Occupancy in the Paphos district reached 82.4 per cent and in the Famagusta district 90.7 per cent last July, he said. For 2024, occupancy rates stood at 81.4 per cent in Paphos and 85.5 per cent in Famagusta, according to the deputy minister. Koumis also highlighted that Cyprus recorded the largest increase in overnight stays between 2024 and 2023 across the European Union, with growth of 14.5 per cent. “I am certain that there is a small decline in many tourism businesses compared with the previous year, but let us consider what happened in recent months in our country and the wider region, and what continues to happen,” he said. The deputy minister added that Cyprus could have achieved results similar to 2025 this year, based on the booking trends recorded before recent developments. “Success in tourism is never guaranteed. We all know that tourism is affected by external factors and unfortunately we cannot change our geographical position,” Koumis said. He stressed that international competition in tourism had increased significantly and that the state could not take responsibility for every individual business. “The public sector cannot be behind every business. The tourism sector operates in an international and highly competitive environment, and within this framework there is both corporate and personal responsibility,” he said. Looking ahead to the autumn period, Koumis said he remained “quite optimistic” about prospects, pointing to expectations that the second half of 2026 would deliver better results than the first half. “Personally, I consider it a given. The messages we are receiving from our strategic partners abroad are only positive,” he concluded.