The government is following the roadmap it drafted in 2025 to establish Cyprus as an all-year-round tourist destination with clear aims and priorities to develop alternative forms of tourism, highlight Cyprus’ nature, culture and people, and rejuvenate remote areas, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday.

Addressing the Cyprus Hoteliers Association (Pasyxe) annual meeting in Nicosia, during which Yiannis Pantazis took over the organisation’s reins from Thanos Michaelides, the president said the contribution of tourism to the economy recorded an increase from 12.8 per cent in 2023 to 14 per cent in 2025.

Furthermore, tourist arrivals have increased by 41.6 per cent since 2022, while revenue from tourism increased by 51.5 per cent during the same period.

The year 2025 was a record year with 4.5 million arrivals and €3.7 billion revenue generated by tourism, he said.

The president pointed out that this did not happen by chance, but was the result of cooperation between the public and private sector, as well as improvements made to decisive parameters, such as air connectivity and deepening relations with strategic partners and countries.

One of the current goals is to achieve connectivity with India, while flights to Kazakhstan have recently begun.

He did point out, however, that although 2026 kicked off well for tourism, it did not last due to the regional crisis.

Christodoulides explained that efforts are ongoing to restore the feeling of safety for travellers and in the meantime hoteliers had been supported with targeted measures, made possible due to “our responsible fiscal policy”.

“Today, evaluating the data so far, we can say that, under the circumstances, the losses … remain manageable,” he said, adding that efforts were being made to extend the tourist period till November to cover the losses accrued in March and April.

Christodoulides said Pasyxe, which is celebrating 90 years of contribution to tourism and the economy, “knows better than anyone that tourism is a sector facing continuous changes and developments”.

“Apart from the external factors that have affected, affect and will continue to affect tourism, it is equally important to acknowledge that its development is determined by our choices, the policies we implement and the decisions we make.”

Christodoulides said the tourism sector was “one of the main pillars of our economy, with a particularly important contribution to economic activity and the labour market”.

He furthermore highlighted the support Pasyxe offered during Cyprus’ EU presidency during the first half of the year, saying that “the hotel industry proved once again that it has the necessary infrastructure and know-how to provide high-level services.”

Addressing the meeting, outgoing president Michaelides presented proposals on behalf of Pasyxe to enhance the resilience of the tourism sector, including setting up a crisis management team, establishing a standing advisory body with representatives from the private sector and the deputy tourism ministry and creating a one stop shop to simplify procedures and attract investments.

During the meeting, Pasyxe presented its new platform Xenios Analytics, which gathers and analyses information concerning the performance of hotel businesses and their cost.