Cyprus Business Now: Cyprus wins award, digital tourism campaign, airline growth

Cyprus recently achieved international recognition by winning the “Destination Award” at the Routes World Airline Conference, held in Bahrain from October 6 to 8. As Cyprus’ reputation for excellence in air connectivity continues to grow, the deputy Ministry of Tourism announced the award.

This annual Routes World conference, a key event for the aviation industry since 1995, attracts senior figures from airlines, airports, and global stakeholders. This year’s event saw over 230 top airlines and 680 aviation companies in attendance.

Notably, Cyprus’ deputy ministry of tourism received the “Destination Award” in the “Tourism Authorities” category, showcasing its success in promoting Cyprus and expanding its global network.

In addition to this award, Paphos is launching a €195,000 digital advertising campaign this October to enhance visibility across Europe and attract more visitors. This initiative, spearheaded by local tourism board Etap, is backed by local hoteliers, the Cyprus Hoteliers Association (Pasyxe), Hermes Airports, and the Hellenic Bank.

Building on three years of successful campaigns, the campaign aims to position Paphos as a top destination with reliable air connections.

By strategically targeting high-potential markets like the UK, Germany, Austria, Poland, and France, it leverages algorithmic technology to connect with potential visitors. Besides Sojern, a leading travel marketing platform, this year’s toolkit includes Exitbee, designed to increase user impressions and website traffic, along with Channelfactory for targeted social media campaigns on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Alongside Cyprus’ tourism advancements, Aegean Airlines announced impressive growth, having carried over 12.5 million passengers in the first nine months of 2024, reflecting a 5 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

Consistent with this trend, the airline experienced high passenger traffic in Q3, transporting more than 5.3 million passengers. In response to this demand, AEGEAN increased its seating capacity, offering over 6.3 million seats during Q3, up by 2 per cent from last year. Altogether, the airline provided more than 15.2 million seats in the first nine months of 2024, representing a 6 per cent year-on-year increase.

Meanwhile, efforts to foster diversity and inclusion took center stage at the Women in STEM Cyprus Forum in Limassol, opened by Commissioner for Gender Equality, Josie Christodoulou. While Cyprus currently ranks 21st among the 27 EU Member States for gender equality, this forum, organised by Women in Tech and TechIsland in celebration of Ada Lovelace Day, focused on empowering women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The event highlighted the ongoing global challenges related to gender representation within these fields.

Continuing the theme of tech innovation, Snapchat has now joined as the exclusive community partner of Cyprus’ largest tech association, TechIsland. This partnership aims to support the TechIsland MarComms Community, dedicated to professionals in marketing, public relations, and communications.

The MarComms community provides a free platform for industry professionals to network, share knowledge, and stay informed on the latest trends in marketing. Reflecting on the partnership, Artemis Pnevmatikou, Head of PR & Communications at TechIsland, expressed enthusiasm about Snapchat’s role, stating, “Cyprus has rapidly emerged as a global hub of innovation, and marketing plays a pivotal role in this vibrant ecosystem. We are thrilled to have Snapchat join us in powering this growing community.” Pnevmatikou further added, “With this partnership, we look forward to hosting exciting meetups in the coming weeks, sharing knowledge and trends, and we encourage MarComms professionals of all levels in Cyprus to participate.”

On Wednesday, the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) experienced a decline, with the general index standing at 196.63 points by noon, marking a decrease of 0.73 per cent from the previous session. Similarly, the FTSE/CySE 20 Index fell by 2.24 per cent, trading at 119.81 points. Total transaction values reached €819,504.68.

In sector-specific performance, the main market saw a significant loss of 2.42 per cent, while the alternative market recorded a slight dip of 0.06 per cent, and the hotels index dropped by 0.66 per cent.

In contrast, the investment market showed resilience with a gain of 1.60 per cent.

Among the most actively traded securities, Bank of Cyprus led with a transaction volume of €363,712.54, experiencing a drop of 6.67 per cent.

Hellenic Bank followed with €263,683.52 in trades, down by 3.15 per cent.

Other key movers included Demetra Holdings, up 1.62 per cent with €178,106.24 in transactions, Cyprus Cement Company, which rose by 0.77 per cent on €3,890.50 in trades, and Logicom, gaining 1.33 per cent with a volume of €3,125.20.