British Holidaymakers booking Cyprus Holidays have helped boost tourism to Cyprus by 29% this April, according to stats released by the Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus who last week compared tourism numbers for April 2011 compared to April 2010.

It’s debatable what caused this upswing of visitors during April, it could be attributed to many factors such as the extra bank holidays over the Royal wedding period, last years figures being affected by the ash cloud or perhaps even the political unrest in Egypt making Cyprus a more appealing option.  Whatever has caused it, British holidaymakers definately seem to be looking at Cyprus for holiday deals at the moment.

On the whole, tourism to Cyprus is up by 43% compared to last April, with the British contributing to over half of this figure as tourists to the island.  Cyprus is a popular destination for UK visitors with tourism accounting for approx 12% of Cyprus’s GDP.  Cyprus will be hoping for a bumper Summer season based on April’s figures so far.

In order to further encourage the growth of tourism, the Cypriot Government has also announced lower commercial airport charges  at Larnaca and Paphos airport.  This announcment has been welcomed by companies such as Ryanair who operate 4 Larnaca routes currently although not yet from the UK.

The Elea Golf Club in Cyprus has announced its golf-course designed by six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo will open this autumn.
The par-71 course will be at the centre of the Elea Estate Paphos, which comprises of Luxury villas and apartments, a boutique hotel and spa facilities, beside the Mediterranean Sea.
“This golf course certainly has the potential to play a pivotal role in establishing this part of the world as a leading European golf destination,” said Faldo. “When we designed the golf course at Elea Golf Club we decided to put the emphasis on thoughtful, rather than big-hitting, golf and there are plenty of strategic riddles for the golfer to explore and unravel over all 18 holes.”
The course has been designed to allow partridges, birds of prey, butterflies and lizards to continue living around the course.

Love golf?  Book your direct holidays to Cyprus and enjoy this ecologically friendly course and surroundings.

The brand new Larnaca International Airport has officially opened. The new state-of-the art airport is three times bigger than its predecessor and will be able to handle up to 7.5 million passengers each year. Cyprus now has two modern airports following the opening of the new airport in Pafos in November 2008.

The new terminal has 67 check-in counters, 16 aircraft walk ways, 11 arrival/departure bus drop-off points and 5,000 square metres of airside retail space.

Bright, modern colours and Cypriot design is featured throughout with a fascia based on Cypriot lace. Local merchandise can be purchased at the Kypriaka store. Items on sale include intricate lace work, silver-plated gifts, art and sculptures, wines, gastronomic specialities and other authentic souvenirs.
For tourist information visit     www.visitcyprus.com

SEVENTEEN protesters were arrested and several police and protesters were injured yesterday as thousands of public sector workers in the north clashed with riot police outside the Turkish Cypriot ‘parliament’.

The demonstrators were demanding that an economic austerity package that would cut public sector workers’ salaries be scrapped, saying it would lead to the mass emigration of Turkish Cypriots from the island.

Thirty unions led by the Turkish Cypriot Teachers Union (KTOS) staged yesterday’s demonstration. The unions claim austerity measures the authorities want to introduce will force ‘state’ employees to leave their jobs on the island in search of work abroad. They have dubbed the economic package the ‘emigration package’. In response the authorities say the measures are needed to offset the effects of the global economic downturn and bring public sector salaries closer in line with those in the private sector.

At the demonstration, timed to coincide with the ‘government’s’ attempt to pass the bill in ‘parliament’ yesterday, demonstrators attempted to storm ‘parliament’, resulting in violent scuffles with riot police. Security measures around ‘parliament’ had been stepped up in preparation for what was expected to be a tense day. Tear gas was also used to hold back the crowds. Yesterday afternoon the demonstration had moved to the police station where the 17 arrested were being held.

The austerity package has won the support of the north Chamber of Trade, which has long argued that the private sector is in greater need of financial support and conditions in which it would develop. It has long been the case in the north that the only job seen as secure is a ‘state’ one.

Currently the authorities in the north pay the monthly salaries of around 30,000 workers, and roughly the same number of payments to retired ‘state’ personnel. While the authorities argue that they can no longer foot the bill, the unions argue that without the monthly ‘state’ injection of cash the private sector of the economy would collapse.

In ‘parliament’ yesterday ratification of the controversial bill was delayed as disturbances took place outside the building. Arguments also raged inside the chamber between ruling and opposition deputies.

NICOSIA -As swine flu vaccinations got under way today, the first serious case of the illness has been reported.

According to the CyBC, it concerns a 46-year-old woman who is hospitalised in Limassol. She fell ill nine days ago. No more details have been released.

The island-wide vaccination against the swine flu got under way at 8 o’clock this morning and will last until December 12, with priority given to vulnerable persons.

These include health workers, pregnant women, persons with serious chronic illnesses and the obese, aged 15-45.

A total of 19 inoculation centres will operate across the island on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more details, persons included in the vulnerable categories should consult their doctor or the local health services.

There are still widespread misgivings about the side effects of the H1N1 vaccine. The European Union has confirmed the safety and effectiveness of the pandemic medicines Celvapan, Focetria and Pandemrix.

The commercial contracts for the supply of biometric passports by German company Bundesdruckerei GmbH (BDR) were signed yesterday at the offices of Civil Registry and Migration Department (CRMD) head Anni Shakalli.

The €4.9 million contract was finalised after the Tenders Review Authority announced two weeks ago that it had rejected an appeal lodged by a competing bidder against the decision to award the contract to BDR, one of the world’s leading suppliers of systems for secure ID.

The second tendering process – launched in February 2008 – followed a bureaucratic fiasco surrounding the first tendering process launched in 2006. This was won by a subsidiary of BDR, but was finally cancelled after legal wrangling and accusations of mismanagement.

Cyprus is obliged under EU law to comply with the harmonised introduction of biometric identifiers in passports of EU citizens, which is designed to ensure that the identity of the holder can easily be established and to protect against identity fraud.

As well as containing the usual details, biometric passports – also known as e-passports – have a microchip capable of storing an individual’s fingerprints, iris scan, facial image, other biometric data and electronic signature.

The first biometric Cypriot passports are expected to be issued in six months’ time. The deadline for changing over to the new-style passports is 2012, but current passports without biometric data will remain valid for travelling for most countries until then.

Flyglobespan has teamed up with the Cyprus Tourist Board to promote the island to Scottish holidaymakers.

The Cyprus Tourism Board will now feature prominently on the flyglobespan website, with Paphos accommodation services also linked to the site.

Visit http://bit.ly/25jRXn Cyprus Tourism Organisation

Cyprus’ new international airport, located in Larnaca, has announced its official opening date as November 10th. It is estimated that some nine million passengers a year will use the airport, a massive 5.5 million increase on the current Larnaca Airport figures.

42 months after taking over the operation of Cyprus Airports, Hermes Airports Ltd will proudly open a state of the art grand new Terminal,  an achievement of exceptional importance and significance to the country.

Operations at the new Larnaka Airport will start on 10th November 2009 with flights of Cyprus Airways and Easyjet exclusively. The other airlines will transfer their arrivals and departures to the new Terminal by 17th November.

The old terminal at Larnaca International Airport is due to be turned into a cargo facility when the new terminal opens.

Larnaca Airport is situated in the Republic of Cyprus about 5km south of the City of Lanarca. The airport serves over 30 international airlines and over 30 charter airlines are using it at present.