Tourism officials from Nicosia have launched an aggressive marketing drive in Athens aimed at turning the Cypriot capital into a year-round city-break destination for Greek visitors. At an event hosted by the Hellenic-Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, Theodoros Kringou, president of the Nicosia regional tourism board (Etap Nicosia), touted culture, gastronomy and easy access – "just 40 minutes by motorway" from Larnaca airport – as reasons to choose the island’s inland metropolis over traditional sun-and-sea resorts. The pitch rests on robust air connectivity: roughly 90 scheduled flights per week link Athens and Larnaca this month, operated by Aegean, Sky Express, Wizz Air and Cyprus Airways. Hermes Airports data cited by Kringou show that 14 percent of non-Cypriot travellers who visit in winter already make Nicosia their main base, suggesting latent demand that could be scaled with tailored packages. Cyprus needs that diversification. After a record 4.53 million arrivals in 2025, the first half of 2026 saw an 8 percent drop, driven mainly by a British market slump. Greece, by contrast, held steady; more than 12,000 Greeks visited in July while 80,000 Cypriots travelled the opposite direction. Etap’s strategy is to close that gap by working with Greek tour operators on themed weekends around food markets, contemporary art and hiking in the Troodos foothills. Industry stakeholders welcomed the initiative but warned of capacity bottlenecks. Nicosia counts just 4,500 hotel beds – a fraction of coastal inventories – and competes with European city giants offering deeper low-cost flight networks. Kringou said talks are under way with boutique-hotel investors and short-term-rental platforms to add flexible stock without distorting rents for residents. If successful, the campaign could extend the island’s tourism season, support small businesses in the capital and give corporate mobility managers more shoulder-season options for meetings and incentives. Airlines, meanwhile, will watch booking data closely; sustained winter loads could justify up-gauge equipment or new point-to-point city pairs such as Thessaloniki–Paphos.
Source: Streamline
