Speaking Thursday during a press conference, in the presence of Cyprus Tourism Organization Chairman, the Minister noted that five foreign airlines have included Cyprus in their routes for winter 2013. These air carriers, that will cover eight countries and will fly to seventeen different destinations are Ryanair, Wizz Air, Norwegian, EasyJet and British Airways. Their routes include new destinations in countries such as Germany, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Lithuania, Poland and Italy.

Tourism Minister said that the intense efforts to extend the tourist period and promote Cyprus as a year –round tourist destination , have borne fruit. He said that based on the agreements between Cyprus and tourist and other authorities abroad, we have every reason to be optimistic about this coming winter. Asked about the arrivals for the past months, he said that the first five months of the year there has been a decrease of 7% compared to last year , pointing out that with the tourists that are expected to visit the island in the winter, we are trying to cover lost ground and the problems that were created last March and April, because of the Eurogroup decision on Cyprus and its rescue package.

Source: Financial Mirror