Cyprus expects 20,000 visitors during EU Council presidency

Around 20,000 visitors are expected to travel to Cyprus during its six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday.

According to the president, visitors are expected to arrive from EU member states and beyond during the presidency period. He said the forecast was based on official planning for the six months.

Christodoulides also said Cyprus’ two airports recorded historic arrival records last year and are expected to do so again this year. He credited this to close cooperation between the government and Hermes Airports, which manages Larnaca and Paphos airports.

“I want to publicly thank and congratulate Hermes Airports,” he said. 

“Both last year and this year, we are seeing historic records in arrivals at our two airports, and this is also the result of close cooperation with the government.”

The president was speaking at the inauguration of the exhibition titled “Carte Postale. EU journey through the lens of time”, hosted at Larnaca airport in partnership with Hermes Airports.

He described the exhibition as “interesting and admittedly rare by Cypriot standards”. It features around 250 selected postcards from the past century, from Cyprus and the other 26 EU member states.

The exhibits come from the collection of the late deltiologist (postcard collector) Antonis Hadjipanayis. The collection was curated by his son, journalist Panicos Hadjipanayis.

Christodoulides said Hadjipanayis was a refugee from the village of Assia, displaced after the events of 1974, who developed a passion for collecting postcards from Cyprus and around the world at a young age.

The president noted that this was not the first such exhibition. During Cyprus’ first presidency of the Council of the EU in 2012, a similar exhibition of photographs from Cyprus was held at the House of Cyprus in Athens.

He said the postcards offer a visual journey to the early 20th century, a time when daily life and communication were very different.

“It was a period when communication was done through correspondence, literally from hand to hand,” he said.

Christodoulides added that although sending postcards is now seen as outdated, it still carries a unique charm.

“It is something worth remembering for older generations and discovering for younger ones,” he said.

He said the exhibition also serves as a farewell greeting to the thousands of visitors expected to arrive in Cyprus for the EU Presidency.

The president closed his remarks by congratulating Hermes Airports for making use of the rare material and thanking Panicos Hadjipanayis and his family for the initiative behind the exhibition.