Greece will become second biggest tourism market for Cyprus in 2005
Greek visitors to Cyprus are set to reach record numbers this year, as figures for the first nine months of 2004 show a 21.8 percent increase from the same period last year. If this trend continues next year, Greece will be second in Cyprus’s touristic markets behind perennial leader, Great Britain, Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO) Chairman Fotis Photiou announced at a press conference ahead of «Philoxenia,» the international tourism exhibition opening today in Thessaloniki. Photiou stressed the importance the CTO places on the Greek market and especially northern Greece, where CTO will open a new office. In 2005, Cyprus expects a rise in total arrivals of between 5 and 7 percent. It has allocated up to 2 million euros to advertising in Greece in 2004 and will commission a public relations firm to further promote Cypriot tourism in Greece. CTO has joined forces with its Greek equivalent to penetrate the Asian markets and promote alternative forms of tourism: Cyprus, said Photiou, will soon have new golf courses, casinos and marinas.
