An opinion piece by Mr. Kypros Georgakis, Manager Funds Unit, Amicorp (Cyprus) Ltd.

While the economy in Cyprus is showing signs of recovery and the GDP is growing at a higher than expected rate, one of the most important contributing factors of this growth is the record levels of tourist arrivals in the last couple of years. Mrs. Damiani Papatheodotou, Research Analyst and Mr. Nikolas Kourtis, Research Division at AXIA Ventures Group Ltd analyse the issue.

The Cypriot economy generated a €7.4m current account deficit in the second quarter of 2017 compared with a deficit of €472.2m in the respective period last year and €718.8m in January to March, the Central Bank of Cyprus said.

The consumer price index fell an annual 0.4% in September mainly on cheaper vegetables and cleaning products, which offset an increase in energy prices, the statistical service said.

Cyprus will seek allies in a bid to host another European agency after falling out of contention for the seat of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said recently.

The government recorded a fiscal surplus of €431.5m, or roughly 2.4% of GDP, on a cash basis in the first eight months of the year, compared to €12.1m in 2016, the finance ministry said.

The number of property transactions rose 8% in September, to 602, compared to the respective month of 2016, the land registry said.

Cyprus and Russia recently signed a protocol outlining the possibilities and prospects to further expand their cooperation, including innovation, industrial cooperation, medical services, transport, telecoms and information technology.

Bank of Cyprus’ chief executive officer John Hourican said confidence in the bank has improved “dramatically” over the past years in which the lender performed better than expected.

An extra 250,000 airline seats are being added for the coming winter tourism season, translating into a 20% increase in the number of arrivals between November and March, industry players say meaning the success of tourism so far this year looks set to continue.