CTO officials are looking to strike while the iron’s hot following a record number of arrivals to the island this summer with pundits predicting a good summer for 2017 also.

According to press reports, the request for the €12m cash boost has already been submitted to the relevant ministry and the CTO is currently await a response.

Despite all tourism operators in favour of such a move, CTO officials are bracing for resistance from the Finance Ministry following a recent circular from Finance Minister Harris Georgiades calling for a stringent tightening of the public purse in light of the current economic hardships still facing the island.

This, in turn, could see the request end up at the cabinet.

The CTO is requesting the additional €12m for the purposes of more advertising, for specialised tourism and for quality improvements. But €9m of that cash will go towards marketing.

Tourism officials are also keen to move ahead with plans to promote winter tourism on the island and to put greater emphasis on attracting holidaymakers from destinations – where more direct flights are expected increase – such as Iran and China.

Source: InCyprus