Despite a challenging year, Cyprus managed to see an increase in both tourist arrivals and revenues in the first half of the year, Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis said, while reiterating that negative reports must not be allowed to grow into something more severe.
Speaking at an event held by the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Koumis also underlined the vital role of local authorities in supporting the island’s tourism sector.
Presenting findings from the Tourism Observatory, Koumis stressed that local authorities must include a tourism agenda in their responsibilities.
“Every local authority must have a tourism agenda alongside social and infrastructure projects,” he said.
“Our decision to engage with local authorities is part of our broader efforts to align our country’s tourism ecosystem,” Koumis continued.
In a statement, the Central Bank of Cyprus said that, exercising the powers granted to it under Article 314A of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 154, it has determined the reference interest rate in accordance with the provisions of the said article at 11.76 per cent.
The central bank also stressed that, according to the article, it is an offence for any person who, in the provision of any loan, the granting or extension of the repayment period, the renewal or discounting of a loan, receives, collects, charges, agrees to, or takes for themselves or for a third party, any financial benefit or property advantage that exceeds the reference interest rate.
Nicosia and London-based Journey Mentor, a travel-tech SaaS company, has announced that it has been awarded a five-year IT contract by Total Air Services Ltd (TAS), a prominent provider of aviation services in Bangladesh.
According to the announcement, the deal aims to enhance TAS’s travel solutions with Journey Mentor’s suite of innovative IT tools.
Paul Sies, Chief Executive Officer of Journey Mentor, as well as former Cyprus Airways CEO, said that “we are delighted to be awarded this contract and start a long-term partnership with TAS”.
“This is a significant milestone for us and a key part of our strategy to partner with prominent local established organisations in untapped geographical markets,” Sies added.
He also said that the company firmly believes that its “leading suite of integrated solutions has the potential to catalyse a transformative wave in the travel industry”.
“We look forward to working with TAS to enhance the travel experiences of their customers and, of course, create new and larger revenue streams for our partner,” Sies stated.
The beach was found to be the best in Europe after the website took into account five factors: the average sea temperature in June, the number of five-star reviews on travel website Tripadvisor, the average temperature during the hottest month of the year, the average daily cost, and the height of waves.
Nissi beach’s average sea temperature in June of 24.4C was higher than any of the other nine beaches listed, while its average temperature of 30.5C during the hottest month of the year was also the highest.
QuoteZone said the beach is “known for its sparkling turquoise waters, golden sands, warm sea and air temperatures.
“This ultimate beach destination has been awarded the blue flag for cleanliness and offers a budget-friendly daily cost of €103, which includes all you’d need for a day trip such as meals, transport, and even overnight accommodation,” it added.
Speaking after a meeting between stakeholders chaired by President Nikos Christodoulides, he said there will be a test period for the competitive market lasting six months, for the systems to work, and he emphasised that this is a development, which will also reduce the price of electricity.
During the meeting issues such as electrical interconnection through the Great Sea Interconnector, natural gas and the LNG terminal in Vasilikos, the opening of the competitive electricity market, as well as issues related to storage were discussed.
He said the most important thing to have emerged from the discussion, and was of direct interest to the members of the Electricity Market Association, is the opening of the electricity market.
“We strongly believe, and agree with the association, that in order for the mix of conventional power generation and generation from renewable sources to reduce the cost of electricity, these two pillars should be connected through the competitive electricity market,” he said, explaining this is scheduled to be implemented in July 2025.
Cyprus experienced an overall decline in the sales of petroleum products during June, which amounted to 127,395 tonnes, marking a 4.1 per cent decrease compared to June 2023, according to the latest figures released on Friday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).
Notably, there was a significant drop in the supply of oil to ships, down by 32.3 per cent, as well as a substantial decrease in sales of kerosene (68.8 per cent), heating oil (28.7 per cent), heavy fuel oil (15.7 per cent), fuel oil (8.9 per cent), and petrol (1.8 per cent).
Conversely, there was an increase in the supply of oil to aircraft by 3.9 per cent, along with a rise in sales of light fuel oil (12.0 per cent) and bitumen (11.9 per cent).
What is more, sales from petrol stations decreased by 5.6 per cent to 55,950 tonnes.
When compared to May 2024, total sales of petroleum products in June 2024 rose by 4.1 per cent.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Friday, July 26 with losses.
The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 164.96 points at 13:23 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 0.57 per cent over the previous day of trading.
The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 100.42 points, representing a drop of 0.57 per cent.
The total value of transactions came up to €42,722, until the aforementioned time during trading.
In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and investment firm indexes fell by 0.83 per cent and 1.97 per cent per cent respectively.
The hotel index remained unchanged while the alternative index rose by 0.21 per cent.
The biggest investment interest was attracted by Hellenic Bank (-1.14 per cent), Demetra (-2.02 per cent), Atlantic Insurance (+3.65 per cent), Petrolina (no change), and Louis (+3.51 per cent).
