Cyprus is traditionally one of the most return destinations. According to market participants, the share of return tourists, depending on the date of arrival, is from 20 to 30%, as in the previous year. According to Oksana Volkanova, the development director of ICS Travel Group tour operator, basically such an audience returns to 5* hotels, actively booking favorite accommodation facilities at the very beginning of the early booking.
According to experts, more attractive prices for package tours and the choice of hotels stimulate fans of Cyprus to apply for booking tours to tour operators. So, Intourist reported that this year the proportion of package tourists has increased in the share of the permanent audience of Cyprus,.
As for the preferences of tourists, then in comparison with last season, there is a trend to choose better quality hotels. This was reported by representatives of TUI Russia, ANEX Tour, TEZ Tour and Coral Travel. As Marina Makarkova notes, “tourists begin to choose more comfortable accommodation for themselves”. So, in the top of Coral Travel demand in Cyprus are mostly 4* hotels. According to TEZ Tour, 60% of tourists choose 4-5* category hotels in the 2019 season, which is 10% more than last year.
Most often in Cyprus, the Russians prefer hotels in Protaras and Ayia Napa on HB basis. In Intourist the share of bookings of hotels with AI accounts 10% of sales of the destination, in TUI Russia - 40%.
The average length of rest for Russians in Cyprus this year is from 9 to 12 days.
According to tour operators, in the season-2019, if exchange rate of Ruble is stable, Cyprus will at least show the results close to the level of last year. According a favorable scenario, the sales are predicted to increase from 5 to 10%. Rossia airline, which is the leader in transportation between Cyprus and the Russian Federation, confirms the expectations of tour operators. At the end of 2018, the carrier transported about 40% of the total passenger traffic between the two countries.
