Airport retail stakeholders are eyeing a tourism and shopping resurgence in Cyprus after the country said it would permit the arrival of fully vaccinated Britons from May.

Current rules prohibit foreign travel from the UK, aside some limited exceptions.

There are hopes this could revive in the coming months as part of the UK’s roadmap easing of lockdown restrictions, but not before 17 May.

The UK government’s Global Travel Taskforce is due to report its recommendations on 12 April as a means of determining when international travel can resume safely.

STRONG PROMOTIONS IN PLACE

It remains unclear how ‘vaccine passports’, the centre of much discussion of late, would work in practice in terms of proving vaccination statuses.

Commenting on the UK arrivals development, Richard Gray, CEO Middle East at Aer Rianta International (ARI) said: “We are pleased that the light at the end of tunnel is beginning to glow a little brighter. Last season was tough on everyone, but especially tough for the people of Cyprus and its government who rely so heavily on tourism.”

Cyprus Airports Duty Free, the trading fascia of Aer Rianta International company CTC-ARI, has been renovating its shops at Larnaca (Larnaka) and Paphos (Pafos) International Airports in recent years as part of an investment totalling more than €15m/$17m [click here for the orginal story].

The company recently completed a €12.5 million redevelopment of its shops at Larnaca and is carrying out changes to its units at Paphos.

ARI-CTC has been prioritising the safety of its customers as part of a ‘solid restart programme’, says Gray.

“Our colleagues are raring to go, they are fully trained and exceptionally talented. New and returning customers will be given a traditional Cypriot welcome and provide them with the ideal shopping experience to start and finish their holiday in style. We have a strong promotional package, exciting ranges, keen price points and an excellent stock position.

“We look forward to welcoming our customers to our new and exciting shopping experience as soon as the Cypriot and UK governments say that it is safe to do so.

“The country was effectively closed to tourists with very limited flights and restaurants all but closed due to strict curfews in place. Now we can see a restart to the tourist industry in Cyprus, no doubt with sensible safety protocols in place.”

DUTY FREE LIFT

Sales of liquor and tobacco, historically strong among British travellers to Cyprus, are expected to continue growing.

Competitive pricing has played an important part in L&T sales and UK travellers can now buy the items without excise duties after duty free restored on 1 January following the UK’s departure from the EU. Perfumes & cosmetics and confectionery are also essential revenue flankers.

“We are well placed to provide the traditional duty free lines that our customers love to buy, but also our unique range of Cypriot products that are all made in Cyprus… not forgetting that now the UK is no longer in the EU, our British customers get even better value with duty free prices on their purchases they take back to the UK,” continued Gray.

Cyprus welcomed approximately 3.98 million international tourists in 2019, according to data from Statista, and the UK remains a key source market.

Separately, it has been reported that Cyprus has agreed a deal with Israel to welcome back vaccinated travellers from 1 April.

Andrew Baker, General Manager at Cyprus Airports Duty Free, praised the steps to accept vaccinated tourists arrivals from Israel and the UK to Cyprus as positive steps on the road to ‘normalised’ travel.

“The UK has always been one of our key markets for tourists to visit because of the great beaches, fabulous weather, the history and culture as well as it’s amazing food and friendly people,” he told TRBusiness.

“Cyprus also has very strong historical ties with the UK and therefore we see a significant number of friends and relatives moving between both islands throughout the year. We see these trends continuing into the future.”

Cyprus Airports Duty Free’s shops have remained open throughout the pandemic. According to Baker, this will enable the company to scale up its operations quickly as business resumes in earnest.

Engagement with key suppliers has fostered preparations for the restart, with orders placed in recent weeks to ensure business demands can be met when travel volumes pick up later in the year.

“We believe we are in a strong position to meet the needs of our customers when they come back to Cyprus,” added Baker.

TRBusiness has reached out to Hermes Airports, which manages and controls Larnaca and Pathos Airports, for comment.

For more on ARI’s recovery plans, click here for an in-depth interview with CEO Ray Hernan.

*In recent days, a report from UK national The Independent carrying comments from Cyprus’ Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios suggests that Cyprus may welcome British travellers to the country this summer irrespective of their vaccine status.