TUI plans to bring more German tourists to Cyprus

TUI holiday operator hopes to bring more German tourists to Cyprus next year, starting in the summer of 2019 while boosting efforts to make the island an all-year-round destination.

Following a three-day conference on TUI’s 2018-2019 program, which took place at its German headquarters in Hannover but also in Cyprus, Cypriot tourism officials had an opportunity to address about 60 journalists and bloggers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Officials from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, which has been mounting new efforts to attract more tourists from several northern European countries and other non-traditional markets, gave presentations about Cyprus but also took the journalists on educational tours on the island.

It turns out that Cyprus checks all the boxes on the list, according to Stefan Baumert, Chief Operating Officer at TUI Deutschland.

“I see significant potential for an increase in the German tourism flow to Cyprus, because Destination Cyprus meets all the prerequisites,” he said, while praising the high quality of tourism services offered on the island.

He also suggested that Cyprus was a fierce competitor in the area for certain kinds of tour packages.

“The weather conditions during the winter season are by far better from those in other Mediterranean destinations, while the cultural and natural diversity of the island present a vast array of choices for all targeted groups,” Baumert said.

The conference in Cyprus was organised by Atlantica Hotels & Resorts, a company established in 1981 with the opening of the first Atlantica Hotel in Limassol. The Atlantica Group subsequently grew into a hotel chain operating more than 22 hotels in Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.

As for the German tourists contemplating a visit to Cyprus, they will be able to choose from about 220 hotels offered through TUI on the island, some of which are Cypriot-owned with TUI shareholders.

TUI is one of the most important holiday operators in Cyprus with over 500,000 arrivals recorded every year.

About 79 percent of tourist arrivals in the Republic of Cyprus come from five countries, the United Kingdom, Russia, Greece, Germany, and Israel. Despite estimates that Russian arrivals could drop this year by 25 percent, officials remain confident that other markets will more than make up for the difference.

A record 3.65 million tourists enjoyed a Cyprus holiday last year, spending an unprecedented 2.6 billion euros.

[Kathimerini Cyprus]