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Raft of new low-cost flights from Paphos
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CyprusEASYJET and Jet2 airlines are both starting new flights to Paphos for the summer season.
As of April 14, easyJet will begin flights from Bristol to Paphos four times a week and Edinburgh to Paphos twice a week. The low-cost airline already operates a number of flights to and from Cyprus, mainly from Paphos to Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester.
Jet2’s new flights for summer will start from the beginning of May and there will be weekly flights from Paphos to East Midlands and Newscastle until October 31.
The new flights were announced by Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) Chairman Alecos Orountiotis, who was in London for a series of meetings on Thursday and Friday with Uk tour operators and airlines as part of the efforts to boost tourism to the island.
Jet2 estimatesit will carry 82,400 passengers to Cyprus in 2010 compared to 37,000 in 2009, while Easyjet will be able to carry 225,000 passengers in 2010 compared to 155,000 in 2009.
Tour operators pledged to maintain the same number of passengers as in 2009 or even increase it slightly, the CTO said, adding that Cyprus remained a popular tourist destination.
Orountiotis said that Cyprus is not a cheap destination but CTO and other tourist professionals are making efforts to upgrade the level of services for tourists.
Hoteliers warned on Thursday that a slight boost in tourist arrivals this year would not be enough to take the ailing sector back on path to recovery.
Despite some positive signs in recent weeks, with an increase in hotel reservations compared to the same period last year, one should not use 2009 as a measure of comparison since that year was the worst in the decade, they said.
Latest available figures for 2009 showed an 11 per cent drop in arrivals, and a 17 per cent drop in revenue.
Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Antonis Paschalides concedes that 2009 was a “particularly difficult year for our tourism” but said this should be seen in the wider context of the global economic crisis.
The minister said also that the doomsayers, who had predicted an even worse year for 2009, had been proven wrong.
The government anticipates that the operation of marinas and theme parks will give a much-needed boost to tourism this summer.
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Flights to Africa comments:
Cyprus is doing a great job but I really need to know if they’ll be providing flights to Africa or not. There are many airlines that are operating cheap flights to Africa as well as other amazing destinations. Even if Cyprus is planning to launch flights to Africa or any other destination, they should be cheap as it will support tourism as well the economy.
PETE from ST ANDREWS comments:
EASYJET DENY THAT THERE WILL BE FLIGHTS TO PAPHOS FROM EDINBURGH. THEY HAVE ANNOUNCED FLIGHTS FROM BRISTOL, FROM 14TH APRIL.
Pete from St Andrews comments:
Nan Ensor,
Check new flights to Paphos from Glasgow by Kiss airlines check their web site. Having contacted EasyJet about the announced Edinburgh to Paphos flights they replied that there are no plans of flights from Edinburgh to Paphos !!
James JH lockhart comments:
Think Ryanair Flies to Malta daily from Airports All over the Uk.
Tickets range from 39 Euros to 99 Euros on most flights, Also taxi drivers Have a Set tarrif Displayed in the Airport. Which the Airport Authorities Enforce.
Wake up Cyprus,
NAN ENSOR from GLASGOW comments:
Good news about easyjet flying to Paphos from Glasgow, but since the collapse of Globespan, Glasgow seems to have been ignored by all the airlines, with no announcement yet on any new flights to Cyprus. The twice weekly Glasgow- Paphos Globespan flights were always very popular with thousands of us in the west of Scotland - is no airline going to step in and fill this gap?
Harry Burn from Durham comments:
Further to my earlier comment can I just add that my partners'daughter works as a manager for a well known travel agent in Newcastle and the bookings for Cyprus are lower for this time of year then in the previous two years. I have read the reports from the CTO and agree with a lot of the comments on this page. Cyprus has either to go down the cheap (chavs,dole wallers,incapacity benefit scroungers and people of that ilk) or go for the more upmarket., and as Flitz said Cyprus(Paphos in particular) had a chance of outside investment with Stellios of Easy Jet wanting to invest £60 million in the new airport in return for slots at the airport but was turned down because the CTO didnt want cheap and nasty tourist going to Cyprus.
Geof J from Protaras comments:
Typical CTO strutting around with chests thrust out proclaiming what a good job they have done for the tourist industry, they easily forget that there is more to the island than Paphos! as previously mentioned, what about the South East of the island? this is an area where some are trying to stay open and attract business in the winter in order to justify the slogan as Cyprus being an all year round resort, what do the CTO do? concentrate on the western side, where prices are higher, taxis overcharging etc.
The CTO should concentrate and liaise with all the businesses on this island to find the best way to provide allyear round tourism, but the CTO have never asked us what we think, until they do tourism will be in serious decline!
James JH lockhart comments:
Harry that before you get near the Paphos Airport taxi drivers Who will match the prices from Easy Jet !!!
then you get the 4 EURO nescaffe cup of coffee while you wait.
I think This wont bring the tourists back
Harry Burn from Durham comments:
I have just checked on Jet2's website and as far as cheap flights go they are having a laugh. From my local airport Newcastle to Paphos in July for 2 people is going to cost nearly £600.00,of that about £96.00 is for tax, so Jet2 are still chargine around £504.00 for the flights. No wonder friends are going to Spain,Portugal,Canary Islands, Egypt ect where they are getting all inclusive holidays for around £1,000.00 for 2
Pete from St Andrews & Pissouri comments:
Some good news at last. The loss of Globlespan left a large void of flights to Cyprus, from Scotland. We flew with Globespan to Edinburgh from Paphos last November and the flight was nearly full.
Well done Easyjet.
FLIZ comments:
oh please do mention Dual Pricing.. not the first time we've seen "Water 1 pound - Nero 50 cents".. same applies to hotels where cypriots get discounts over tourists..
There's one word to explain why tourism has gone down the toilet..
GREED
and here's one more:
STUPIDITY
and another:
lack of FORESIGHT.. A government that couldn't see the plain facts infront of their face. Cyprus' biggest source of income.. Tourism! So what do they do? Do they protect the tourism industry? regulate it and make sure the best standards are kept and pricing is regulated to maintain Cyprus' competitiveness amongst other destinations? no.. they let it run wild.. they let greed run wild..
Anybody want to hazard a guess as to how long EasyJet had to wait before being permitted to fly from Cypriot airports? What's even more ridiculous is that they owner was Cypriot.. You can really tell that the government was looking out for the interest of the people and not for the fat, expensive, wasteful and lazy Cyprus Airways.. right...
You couldn't have said it better Simon..
bill from paphos comments:
The taxi drivers will be happy till the tourists find out what a rip off they are alongside the price of drinks 3-5 euros per cup.The tourist board has yet to learn word of mouth is a powerful advertising system and believe you me Cyprus is fast becoming the least place anyone whats to come for a holiday,expensive poor quality food and hotels.People on this island do not think holiday maker they think how much can we rip these people off.I will not even mention dual pricing.You can have as many cheap airlines coming here but it does not mean the flights will be full
Sophia Reid from London comments:
What about Larnaca airport, it always cost a lot more to fly there and is unfair to the buisnesses and holiday visitors who want to visit this side of the island.
Sophia Reid from London comments:
What about Larnaca, no wonder the buisness are closing in Aiya Napa, Protaras etc.
Mike from Limassol & UK comments:
High end, middle or low end of the market is really a no brainer. Michelin star restaurants can be accessed in London, Home Counties, Paris, Brussels in fact everywhere. The top end tourist would go to places such as Mauritius, Cannes etc. rather than Cyprus where infrastructure is commensurate with the experience and building sites littered with expletives and abandoned cars, refrigerators, tyres and tins are not in your face every turn you take.
My belief is that visitors come to Cyprus with their families for the renown hospitality of the people, the cullinery delights of the local produce and home cooked local food mixed with the friendly laid back atmosphere which was once Cyprus.
That is what we are losing, slowly but surely, much of it as a direct result of greed, a lack of vision and lack of consumer protection. We will see the light one day in familiar Cypriot fashion and do our best to put things right but only after blaming everyone else on the planet other than ourselves until we realise the blame game does not solve our problems just alienates others from us.
How I long for the Cyprus I grew up in.
George from Limassol comments:
Dave, the construction has started on Limassol marina and soon (in April, just after Easter) you will see the first excavators arriving on site. This is real and does not depend on any political decisions any more as the "Green Light" was given by the relevant Ministry in January. Currently the contractors are doing all the planning for the works to start in April.
Dave comments:
Marinas been coming for last 15 years !
Barry from Limassol comments:
So the whole "tourism" policy rests on marinas and theme parks ...currently not even open?
We're currently getting mass market tourists who just want cheap, Cyprus is certainly not as cheap as those other destinations vying for the bottom end of the market.
As I see it, we have two options, further reduce quality to cater for high volume low spending tourists or get our act together and provide a high quality product demanded by the higher end of the market.
Perhaps a few enterprising individuals could elevate the standards of the local dining experience up to Michelin star standards and actually provide the right balance of flavour and pizazz with a level of presentation beyond the mere "slap it on a plate" mentality that prevails in most of the eating establishments on the island. Do we even have a Michelin star restaurant on the island?
It's not just food, the hotels need to cater for the right clientele and cheap labour is not going to achieve the high standards demanded by discerning clientele at this level.
The cultural experience needs upgrading with a far more information being provided. A trip to Kolossi Castle is a good example. If you didn't have a basic idea of what it was, then you would go away with absolutely nothing from the experience. The same applies to many of the cultural sites on the island. Properly produced guide books or guided tours via a multimedia based experience that can by downloaded to an iPod or similar product in various languages would certainly explain things better as well as more information around the site and some interactive displays, the Palace of Versailles does something like this, all revenue generating and designed to enhance the experience.
Equipping rental cars with GPS devices containing POI information or even making these readily available for the increasing number of mobile phones that contain a GPS.
Cyprus has a lot to offer, though it needs to be realised that you can't make money for the potential of the business, you actually need to provide quality and a level of service to match the price.
James JH lockhart comments:
Dont Worry lads the Airport taxis will make it Expensive
Mike comments:
Paul from UK asks, "Why is it always Paphos?" I think the reason is because that's where the majority of Brits like to stay on the island.
Mike from Pafos comments:
I was hoping one of these companies would be taking over the Glasgow / Pafos route, vacated following the demise of Globespan.
Paul from UK comments:
Why is it always Paphos!!! if you want to visit the Famagusta area, you have to take a taxi or hire a car, adding to the costs of the already costly flights. Has the CTO no thoughts to the struggling businesses in the Eastern side of the island.
Year after year the businesses on this side of the island are trying to keep going through the winter months, what happens the majority flights fly into Paphos in the winter months.
Give the Eastern end a break, send more flights to Larnaca.
Larnaca the biggest airport , convient for all areas of the country yet they fly the flights into Paphos.
Have they forgotten how the tourists are held to ransom by extorionate taxi fares and no public bus services to get you to the other end of the island.
I despair of the decision that the CTO make.
Low cost flights what a laugh, they cannot even attract the Italians who say Cyprus is to expensive a destination to holiday in. has the CTO looked at how much these low cost airlines are charging.
What is going on, why are prices to Cyprus so expensive compared to other destinations? Why does the government charge so much for every passenger landing, it makes no sense. Low cost flights are not low cost when they fly to Cyprus. Why?
Mr Whyte from peyia comments:
As for the marinas they should get the companies to build them before there in operation,or have i got it all wrong.