Koumis cites improved air connectivity as French market recovers from Middle East-driven downturn
Cyprus’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Kostas Koumis, has said he expects a significant rebound in visitors from France next year, after leading the Cypriot delegation at one of the world’s largest travel trade fairs in Paris.
Koumis held a series of meetings with senior tour operators running programmes to Cyprus during the International and French Travel Market (IFTM) exhibition, where discussions focused on the performance of the French market in recent years, including a downturn in 2026 that officials attributed to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Attention centred on prospects for 2027, when Koumis said a marked increase in visitors was expected following a rise in the number of airline seats on offer to Cyprus.
Talks also covered efforts by Cyprus’s tourism industry to upgrade and adapt its offering to better suit French visitors, as well as promotional strategy for the market.
During the fair, Koumis attended the opening ceremony as a guest of his French counterpart, Serge Papin, who later visited the Cyprus stand. He also met his Egyptian counterpart, Sherif Fathy, with the two sides reaffirming close tourism ties and discussing scope for closer cooperation.
Koumis gave a series of interviews to French media, in which he highlighted Cyprus’s comparative advantages as a destination, the ministry’s efforts to promote niche forms of tourism, the standard of its tourism infrastructure and services, and the recent downturn faced by the Cypriot tourism sector.
IFTM Top Resa, held annually in Paris, is among the largest and longest-running travel trade fairs in the world, drawing thousands of industry professionals each year.
In comments following the meetings, Koumis described the French market as an exceptionally important one for Cypriot tourism, noting that it had effectively re-emerged only in recent years and had scope for further growth. He said it was a market with distinct characteristics that deserved a specialised, sector-wide approach, and said the government was leaving Paris satisfied that air connectivity between Cyprus and France — a key prerequisite for growth in the market — was improving significantly. He said the priority now was for Cyprus to ensure it delivered excellent hospitality to the additional visitors expected from France next year.
