The 2nd CSN Cyprus Shipping ICT Conference brought together key industry experts from industry bodies, shipowners, ship managers, service providers and equipment manufacturers and have looked into at the operational aspects impacting the Cyprus Shipping ICT sector.

October of this year records the highest passenger traffic of the year for both Larnaca and Paphos airports.

Specifically, the numbers recorded for both departing and arriving passengers reached to a total of 951,820 passengers (Larnaca Airport: 619,501 - Paphos Airport: 332,319) compared to 867,097 passengers recorded in August 2021 - traditionally considered the peak period of a year. This is a positive outcome, given that since in 2020, travel has been in general standstill due to the pandemic.

An analysis of arrivals shows a significant influx of passengers from Great Britain, even though until July there was uncertainty as to whether the country would open its borders to tourists. In October an increase was observed in passenger occupancy rates compared to August. At the same time and during this period, the trips of Cypriots abroad began to increase due to the long weekends of the month. Great Britain, Russia, Greece, Germany, and Poland were among the top countries from which travellers arrived in Cyprus.

Maria Kouroupi, senior manager aviation development, marketing and communications, Hermes Airports, mentioned that, “Several factors contributed to this encouraging result in October. Primarily, the improvement of the epidemiological picture of Cyprus at the beginning of the month and the transition of our country from the red to the orange category of the ECDC has been an important factor. Even though the period of our stay in this category was short, it helped the image of our country abroad. At the same time, October was a month with two holidays close to the weekend, which acted as an incentive for our compatriots to travel to various destinations. It also seems to confirm the great need of people to travel again, something that can be seen from the report of the European Travel Commission (ETC) which in fact records the high demand for travel in Europe with two out of three Europeans planning to travel in the next six months.”

The Department of Antiquities, of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, announced that a new scientific programme including archaeological excavations was initiated by the Department of History and Archaeology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), in September of this year, at the site of Palaepaphos Marchello near Kouklia village.

A series of innovative virtual projects for Larnaca region were presented on October 21 at an event held by Larnaca Tourism Board (LTB) and the Youth Board of Cyprus (ONEK), with the support of Larnaca Municipality and the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism (DMT).

During the summer and early fall period of this year, the partners from Cyprus, Greece and Malta have been collecting data and monitoring the behaviour of key stakeholders from their pilot samples of tourist establishments, based on the requirements of the project titled ‘Reducing the Consumption and Disposal of Single-use Plastics in the Tourism Industry in Cyprus, Greece and Malta’, also known as ‘SUPMed’.

The Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism announced that the website www.delightfulcyprus.com has been updated in Greek and English, in the context of the upgrade of the Cyprus Gastronomy Promotion Pact ‘Taste Cyprus’, a certification mark that confirms and rewards the compliance of certain companies. quality criteria.

The Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, Cyprus, on the occasion of the International Mastocytosis and Mast Cell Diseases Awareness Day held annually on October 20, lit up the Castles of Paphos and Larnaca in the colour purple.

A total number of 66,452 residents of Cyprus returned from a trip abroad in September of this year, compared to 26,111 in the corresponding month in 2020, recording an increase of 154,5 percent and 49,8 percent decrease compared to September 2019.

The arrivals of tourists to Cyprus reached 339,242 in September of this year, recording an increase of 288,4 percent compared to September 2020 (during which 87,334 arrivals were recorded), and a decrease of 35,3 percent compared to September 2019 (with 524,707 arrivals).

The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works on October 15 announced the completion of the 2021 fieldwork season of the Italian Erimi Archaeological Project at Laonin tou Porakou, where a team from the University of Siena, directed by Professor Luca Bombardieri, successfully investigated an extended area of the Middle Bronze Age settlement.