Paphos regional board of tourism head, Nasos Hadjigeorgiou, told the press that weekly flights would get underway on Friday April 29 2016, and run throughout the summer period.

He added that representatives of the local board are visiting both Ukraine and Poland this week, promoting the town as an all year round destination.

“Our joint efforts with hoteliers are ongoing to promote the region and increase travellers to the area. Tonight we are participating in an event in Kiev which has been organised by the tour operator that will operate the first ever Kiev to Paphos flights.”

According to the tourism chief, the group is called ‘Travel Professional’, and they have invited more than 120 Ukrainian travel agents to attend the presentation on Paphos.

“The Ukrainian market has experienced a significant upward trend in Paphos in recent years and in 2015 visitor numbers grew by 23% compared with 2014,” he said.

Hadjigeorgiou said that a new direct charter flight would help the market grow.

Tourism board and local hotelier representatives will also be attending another overseas event later in the week, aimed at boosting visitors from Poland.

From April 12-14, they will participate in a workshop and presentation, which has been co-organised by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation which will cover three separate areas, Warsaw, Katowice and Poznan.

Hadjigeorgiou said that face to face meetings with over 150 agents will take place and along with promoting Paphos, they will also be promoting Paphos 2017. Electronic and printed media will be distributed. He said that the purpose is to raise awareness amongst the travel trade.

“In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of visitors to Paphos from Poland, since the scheduled and charter flights started. These air connections will continue this year, with the addition of flights from Poznan.”

The tourism said that in 2015, arrivals from Poland numbered around 43,000 – an increase of 49% compared to 2014.

Source: Cyprus Mail