Cyprus teams up with Israel to promote East Med cruises

Cyprus' ministry of tourism is teaming up with Israeli authorities to promote the east Mediterranean as a prime cruise line holiday destination.

The tourism minister, Savvas Perdios, told The Associated Press Wednesday that the government is also in advanced talks with Egypt to offer cruise packages to include Cypriot and Egyptian ports of call.

He said the aim is to put Cyprus back on the cruise line map with top global operators such as Royal Caribbean after an absence of several years. Cruise ship arrivals this year have doubled to 60 from a year ago and are expected to increase to 100 next year.

Perdios said attracting world-class cruise line operators would open a new tourist market, such as US travelers, that Cyprus hadn't previously accessed.

[AP]