Advance bookings from Britain’s three largest tour operators for 2027 are running between 20 and 30 per cent below last year’s levels, raising fresh concerns for Cyprus’ tourism industry despite signs of recovery towards the end of the summer season. 

Paphos hoteliers association president Evripides Loizides warned on Tuesday that immediate action was needed to strengthen the island’s promotion abroad, particularly as competition intensifies and uncertainty continues to weigh on holiday decisions. 

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Loizides said “the 2026 summer season had started strongly, only for the war and its wider consequences to disrupt demand and leave hotels facing considerable losses.” 

As a result, hotel occupancy during the three summer months and through September was approximately 7 per cent lower than in the corresponding period of 2025. 

However, he explained that “the difficulties facing the hotel industry extended beyond weaker demand, with increasing competition from short-term holiday rentals and accommodation in the occupied area, adding further pressure on established businesses.” 

Although September performed slightly better than last year and October has also shown encouraging signs, the outlook for the coming months remains less favourable. 

According to Loizides, tourist activity typically begins to decline after November 10, with Cyprus continuing to experience a substantial fall in demand during the winter months. 

Of particular concern is the British market, which remains Cyprus’ largest source of tourists but is coming under pressure as households face economic uncertainty and higher living costs. 

Meanwhile, Poland continues to be an important market for Paphos, alongside Israel, whose visitors have played a significant role in supporting the destination this year. Nevertheless, Loizides cautioned that demand from Israel remains closely linked to developments and stability in the country. 

The warning comes just a day after official figures showed that Cyprus welcomed 580,889 tourists in September, an increase of 1.8 per cent compared with the same month last year. 

British visitors accounted for 184,345 arrivals, 31.7 per cent of the total, while Israel followed with 105,249 visitors, representing 18.1 per cent. 

Nevertheless, the wider picture remains more challenging, with arrivals during the first nine months of 2026 reaching 3.4 million, 5.6 per cent below the corresponding period of 2025. 

Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis said on Monday that preparations for 2027 were already under way, with particular attention being given to recovering markets that had suffered losses because of external developments. 

For Loizides, however, the immediate priority is to strengthen overseas advertising before the next holiday booking season gets under way. 

He explained that “most reservations are made between January and March, making it essential for Cyprus to increase its visibility in major tourism markets well before travellers finalise their plans.” 

In this respect, he called on the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, tourism organisations and airlines to coordinate their efforts, stressing that the government has a particularly important responsibility in promoting Cyprus abroad. 

The appeal also comes as the deputy ministry’s 2027 budget provides €26.9 million for tourism promotion campaigns, slightly below the €27.7m allocated for 2026. 

At the same time, Loizides pointed to rising hotel operating costs, staff shortages during the summer months and the uncertainty caused by international developments as additional difficulties for the industry. 

Ryanair is cutting 20 routes and more than one million seats from its Belgian winter schedule, warning that air fares are expected to rise significantly in 2027 as higher fuel costs add to pressure on the airline industry.

The airline announced on Tuesday that its winter 2026 schedule would operate with six fewer aircraft across Brussels Charleroi and Brussels Zaventem airports, representing a claimed $600 million reduction in investment.

Ryanair attributed the cuts to Belgium’s planned aviation tax increase from €2 per ticket in January 2025 to €7 in January 2027, arguing that higher charges would make the country less competitive against European destinations with lower costs.

Chief executive Michael O’Leary also warned that passengers should expect substantially higher fares next year as the airline’s protection against rising fuel prices expires.

“We guarantee no fuel surcharges, but there is no doubt that air fares are going to rise significantly in 2027 because of much higher oil prices,” O’Leary said in an interview with Euronews.

Ryanair has locked in its fuel costs at about $67 per barrel for this year by agreeing prices in advance, but O’Leary expects the price to double next year as that protection runs out.

His warning comes amid rising oil prices linked to the war in the Middle East and concerns over supplies from the Persian Gulf.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, closed at $109.86 per barrel on Friday, its highest level since May, before subsequently climbing above $110, according to the report.

O’Leary argued that aviation taxes also push up costs and divert traffic to countries offering more competitive conditions.

“The Belgian government is doing exactly the opposite,” he said, criticising the planned tax increase and arguing that it would discourage investment, reduce passenger traffic and tourism, and cost jobs.

Ryanair said it had redirected six aircraft, more than one million seats and 20 routes away from Belgium for the winter 2026 schedule, warning that further losses could follow if the tax remained in place.

The airline also pointed to the European Union’s emissions trading system, arguing that it places additional costs on flights within the bloc while exempting non-EU flights.

O’Leary called for aviation taxes to be abolished in Belgium, saying that higher charges would shift passenger demand and tourism to lower-cost destinations elsewhere in Europe.

The Belgian tax increase was scaled back from an initial proposal to raise the charge to €10 per ticket, following pressure from the industry, but Ryanair said the revised rate remained too high.

The airline’s reductions come as other carriers have also adjusted their schedules, with Sweden’s SAS and easyJet having reduced flights this year.

Ryanair said the Belgian government should reconsider the tax before further damage was done to the country’s aviation market.

The Algarve has enjoyed a strong showing at two major international tourism award programmes, with the region itself named Europe’s Leading Beach Destination 2026 and a string of Algarve hotels,

The post Algarve tourism shines at European level appeared first on Portugal Resident.

Cyprus recorded the third-highest tourism intensity in the European Union in 2025, with an average of 19.4 nights spent in tourist accommodation per resident, according to a report from Eurostat.

The island ranked behind Croatia, which recorded 24.5 nights per inhabitant, and Malta, with 21.7, placing Cyprus among the EU countries where tourism activity is highest relative to the resident population.

Greece followed with 15.1 nights per inhabitant, while Austria recorded 14.6, the report added.

Across the EU, tourism intensity averaged 7.0 nights per resident in 2025, up from 6.7 in 2024.

At the other end of the scale, Romania recorded the lowest figure, at 1.6 nights per inhabitant, followed by Latvia at 2.7, and Poland and Slovakia, both at 2.9.

The figures come as the EU recorded 3.1 billion nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in 2025, up 4.1 per cent from 3.0 billion in 2024.

The total represented a 26.5 per cent increase compared with 2015, when tourist accommodation across the bloc recorded 2.5 billion nights.

Domestic and international tourists accounted for almost equal numbers of overnight stays across the EU in 2025.

Tourists from domestic markets and other EU member states accounted for 80.9 per cent of all nights, equivalent to approximately 2.5 billion stays, while visitors from other European countries accounted for a further 10.4 per cent.

Tourists from the Americas, including North, Central and South America, accounted for 4.9 per cent of overnight stays, or 155.5 million nights.

Visitors from Asia represented 2.6 per cent, equivalent to 81.6 million nights, while tourists from Oceania accounted for 0.5 per cent, or 15.2 million nights.

Guests from Africa accounted for the remaining 0.4 per cent, representing 12.9 million nights.

The strongest annual increases in overnight stays between 2024 and 2025 came from visitors from Asia, whose stays rose by 15.4 per cent, and Africa, where they increased by 13.7 per cent.

Over the longer term, nights spent by tourists from the Americas more than doubled between 2015 and 2025, increasing by 101.9 per cent from nearly 77 million.

The tourism intensity measure compares the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments with the permanent resident population of each country, providing an indication of tourism activity relative to population size.

What is the current state of Cyprus’ tourism sector now?

Cyprus recorded its highest-ever September tourist arrivals in 2026, welcoming 580,889 visitors, an increase of 1.80 per cent year-on-year, according to data from the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis attributed the recovery to growth in key markets, led by Israel, where arrivals rose by 31.40 per cent, followed by the United Kingdom, up 2.80 per cent, and Greece, up 16.10 per cent.

The gains helped offset sharp declines in arrivals from several other European markets.

Despite September’s record, total tourist arrivals between January and September fell by 5.60 per cent year-on-year to 3,401,538.

However, the annual shortfall has narrowed steadily since spring, reflecting the resilience of Cyprus’ tourism sector following earlier geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East.