The occupancy of hotels in the Paphos district is expected to reach 35% in March, according to the President of the Paphos Hotels Association, Thanos Michaelides.

In statements to CNA, Michaelides also said that bookings for the summer season are moving at satisfactory levels, taking into account the problems faced this period but also the difficulties the United Kingdom’s economy is facing.

He pointed out that occupancy rate is expected to be at the same levels as last year, perhaps a little better, but without reaching the 2019 rates. He said, however, that they have to wait until the end of March to have a clearer picture.

Michaelides noted that the United Kingdom is still Paphos’ main market, but other markets have also shown interest, such as Germany, Israel, Poland, France and other smaller ones.

Their goal, he said, was to continue to improve these markets to gain the lost ground, also “considering that the Russian market is still out of the equation”. He also said that the goal of the Paphos Hotels Association is to improve seasonality.

For the Green Monday long weekend, Michaelides said that, there was a lot of interest from the Cypriot market for Paphos hotels, also due to the good weather conditions.

Michaelides also referred to the difficulties hoteliers face in finding staff, noting that, this was an issue of concern to them, because, as he said, the tourism industry cannot function without human resources.

He also said that hotels that closed for the winter season will gradually start resuming operations from the end of March.