UK travellers are giving Cyprus the cold shoulder with a growing number declaring they’ll “never” book another trip to the Med hotspot.
Despite Cyprus boasting a whopping repeat visitor rate of more than 30%, one of the highest in the EU, some Brit holidaymakers are vowing to ditch their Cypriot holidays for good.
One miffed tourist told the Cyprus Mail: “Everywhere in Ayia Napa there are reps. They get in your face.” Another holiday-goer ranted about their terrible time in the resort town: “Ayia Napa was disgusting. Drunk Brits everywhere, even on the beach. The music was so loud we couldn’t sleep. And everyone was selling something. I don’t really want to come back.”
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And it’s not just the hard-selling that’s putting off visitors. Others have moaned about chock-a-block beaches and sizzling temperatures.
A Welsh traveller griped: “The beaches are overcrowded.” While a German family grumbled: “The beach showers were broken.” On top of that an elderly Slovakian pair complained: “The water was dirty.”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester lad Harry, 28, shared his shock at the scorching heat: “We looked up the weather before we came,” he says. “But it said Cyprus would be in the mid-30s in July, and we knew that’d be okay because we’ve been to Spain before and it’s the same. What we didn’t expect was 40-plus. For days on end,” reports Birmingham Live.
Harry lamented his decision to stick to the beach during his holiday, telling the publication: “I paid for a beach holiday, so that’s what I did. But I’m beginning to think I should have just spent all my time in my room.”
Meanwhile, another tourist reflected on their disappointment with Cyprus’s evolution, saying: “It’s silly to expect anywhere to stay the same. But the differences are becoming more pronounced with each trip. When I first visited, Cyprus was still a gem. Over the years, it’s become the Costa Del Sol overcrowded and over-commercialised.”
They also observed that Cyprus is losing its charm due to rampant development: “Everywhere you look, there’s a new development going up. Even the mountain villages that used to be so peaceful and authentic are tourist traps now!”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
This news surfaces as Cyprus has reportedly been grappling with challenges in the tourism sector. Kostas Koumis, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, acknowledged that although the country suffered from 30,000 cancellations earlier this year – causing an economic hit of approximately £30million – it still sees “remarkable growth” in terms of visitor numbers and revenue.
He stated: “There is no doubt that the current year is a year full of challenges for the tourism industry worldwide. The financial situation in many European countries, the reduction in the purchasing power of million of households internationally, along with several other challenges have led to stakeholders concerns regarding the performance of the sector, nevertheless the performance of the Cyprus tourism industry remains strong and the sector shows resilience.”
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