Famagusta hoteliers optimistic about bookings following FTI collapse

President of the Famagusta Hoteliers Association, Panagiotis Constantinou has expressed optimism about tourist bookings in hotels in the Famagusta district, despite the bankruptcy of the German tourism organisation FTI and the loss of thousands of bookings.

He told CNA that "the situation with hotel reservations in Famagusta district is not as expected, since we have several units that are not in the condition they would like to be in terms of occupancy. This seems to be improving after mid-June and there is a better flow of arrivals and hotel occupancy will be at good levels”.

He also said, "there is optimism, but it seems that we are somewhat behind in bookings compared with 2023".

Regarding the bankruptcy of the German tourism organisation FTI, he said that "in the Famagusta district there are about 500 people whose holidays have been completed and are preparing to return home.

Fortunately, he added, everything seems to be going smoothly and there are no particular issues with the flights or the process for their repatriation.

He described the bankruptcy of FTI as "a blow for the Famagusta district since, in Cyprus, it handled about 30,000 people. He said that 70- 80% of FTI’s work was in Larnaca and Famagusta districts.

Asked what will happen to the bookings made by tourists from different countries for holidays in Cyprus through FTI, Constantinou replied that "it goes without saying that many of these bookings will be lost, but some reservations have already been made in the same hotels that were originally booked with other partners or with other tour operators. This is positive, but I think the vast majority of bookings will be lost”.

Responding to a question if hoteliers will be compensated, Constantinou said he does not believe so. “Unfortunately, hoteliers are the last in the chain to expect to collect dues, and there appears to be no indication that they will return any of that money to hoteliers”.

He also noted that the hotel association is trying to find out if FTI has already paid some hoteliers. “For some years now FTI seemed to be struggling financially and hoteliers were taking certain measures”, but there are certainly cases where they have not paid, and in some cases large sums are due.

Constantinou said FTI’s bankruptcy is another loss this season in addition to the others we have to deal with, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine and the Middle East and the dire economic situation in the countries we draw tourists from, such as Germany and the UK.

There are also sports events, such as the Olympic Games in Paris and Euro Cup with a lot of people having made arrangements to watch these events in person, he added.

(Source: CNA)