Cyprus’ tourism strategy for the new year, the challenges facing the sector and Paphos’ decisive contribution to overall performance were discussed on Monday during a meeting between Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis and local bodies in the Paphos district.

Addressing stakeholders, Koumis described 2025 as the best tourism year in Cyprus’ history, stressing that the Deputy Ministry’s primary objective is to safeguard the continuity of this success.

A key prerequisite, he said, remains the delivery of an excellent tourism experience for all visitors.

Against this backdrop, Koumis presented the Ministry’s plans and new initiatives for the year ahead, while also inviting proposals aimed at tackling long-standing issues.

As he noted, ensuring smooth operation across individual destinations is critical, explaining that quality services depend on close and ongoing cooperation throughout the tourism ecosystem.

Investors who succumbed to the “temptation to sell” during the market turbulence of early 2025 likely learned a costly lesson about the dangers of market timing, according to Kyriacos Inios, Secretary of CFA Society Cyprus.

Reflecting on the sense of unease that dominated markets in April last year, when tariff war rhetoric was pervasive and prices were sliding daily, Inios notes that for many, the urge to exit the market felt almost unavoidable.

“If you caught yourself thinking, ‘Maybe I should just sell for now until things settle’, you were not alone,” Inios says, adding that numerous anxious investors contacted the society during that period.

However, he argues that 2025 offered a stark reminder that “the greatest risk to our capital is not always the economy, but our own reaction to it.”

Global shipping is making visible progress in adopting cleaner fuels, but the pace of change remains well short of what is needed to meet looming environmental targets, according to new analysis by British classification society Lloyd’s Register (LR), based on Clarkson’s data for 2025.

While overall newbuilding orders eased compared with 2024, demand for vessels capable of operating on alternative fuels stayed resilient.

In 2025 alone, 590 such ships were ordered, lifting the total order book to 1,942 vessels, LR said, pointing to a fuel landscape that is diversifying but still heavily weighted towards LNG.

Most of these ships are LNG-capable, reflecting the fuel’s role as the industry’s most readily available transition option, while orders for methanol- and LPG-fuelled vessels followed and hydrogen and ammonia remained marginal.

Limassol, Cyprus’ second-largest city, is emerging as a “hidden gem” in the international real estate market, according to Israeli businessman and real estate investor Avner Heisler, writing in Israel’s largest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth.

In his analysis, titled “Limassol. The place where big investors hide”, Heisler describes the coastal city as “one of the most dynamic urban centres in the Eastern Mediterranean”, arguing that it is increasingly drawing the attention of international investors seeking stability amid global economic uncertainty.

While broader markets remain volatile, Heisler says real estate continues to function as a safe investment haven, particularly when paired with destinations offering steady growth and long-term prospects.

In this context, Limassol stands out for what he describes as a rare combination of quality of life and economic momentum.

Five chief executives from Cyprus’ banking sector will take part in the 13th Banking, Payments and Fintech Forum and Expo, emphasising the event’s growing institutional weight at a time when the industry is navigating rapid technological and regulatory change.

The forum, presented by Logicom, has become a key point of reference for the island’s banking and fintech ecosystem, focusing this year on strategic transformation, the evolution of payments and the expanding role of artificial intelligence in financial services, both locally and at a European level.

Its importance is reinforced by the participation of the CEOs of all major systemic banks operating in Cyprus.

These include Bank of Cyprus CEO Panicos Nicolaou, Eurobank CEO and executive board member Michalis Louis, Alpha Bank Cyprus CEO Miltos Michaelas, National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) CEO and executive board member George Agioutantis, and SGBCy CEO Khalil Letayf.

Cyprus and Greece are moving to deepen their operational cooperation on maritime security, with a focus on practical measures ranging from border surveillance to search and rescue, as regional challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean persist.

The issue was discussed on Monday during a meeting between Greece’s Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Vasilis Kikilias, and Cyprus’ Minister of Justice and Public Order, Costas Fitiris.

According to the discussion, and mentioned on newmoney, the two sides agreed on the need for immediate and tangible steps to strengthen collaboration between the Hellenic Coast Guard and the relevant Cypriot authorities across the full spectrum of maritime security activities.

These include efforts to combat irregular migration flows, enhance joint training initiatives and improve coordination in search-and-rescue operations.

Total government employment in Cyprus registered a marginal increase in December 2025, reaching 55,301 persons, according to a report from the statistical service (Cystat).

The data showed mixed developments across services and employee categories compared with December 2024.

Cystat said the total number of government employees rose by 53 persons, representing a 0.1 per cent increase year-on-year.

Employment in the civil service and the security forces declined by 0.9 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively, while employment in the educational service increased by 1.8 per cent.

Compared with December 2024, the largest increase in total government employment was recorded among permanent employees, up by 0.4 per cent, while the largest decrease was observed among hourly paid workers, down by 0.7 per cent.