Government officials expressed their positive assessments of the tourism industry during the 44th Cyprus Hotel Summit and Exhibition on Tuesday, saying that 2023 could be a record year regarding passenger traffic.
During the summit, Transport Minister Giannis Karousos said that the government aims to reach 13.7 million in passenger traffic by 2027. To achieve this, it has announced generous incentives for airlines, he said and highlighted that Ryanair and Wizz Air recently announced that they are expanding their fleets and routes to and from Cyprus.
Finance Minister Kostantinos Petrides also played up the prospects of the sector, noting that the current government has created a modern and dynamic tourist product which has the potential to develop even further.
Petrides made special mention to the upcoming City of Dreams Mediterranean integrated resort, saying that it will serve as a point of reference for the Eastern Mediterranean and the EU and will attract large numbers of new tourists.
Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios expressed his reserved optimism regarding the expected increase in passenger traffic in 2023 and noted that rising prices and increased inflation will not affect tourism because, as he said, for many people holidays are not a luxury but a necessity that is included in their family budget.
