Cypriots fared financially and with family – 50% reduction in traffic in leisure centers
From the purchasing movement, it appeared that Cypriots chose their homes instead of vacationing in a hotel accommodation or going on a trip to a tourist destination outside their city of residence.
The Easter holidays have passed and the traffic in the market was particularly high, since consumers chose at the last minute to make their purchases for the Easter table. Specifically, according to sources from the association for supermarkets, on Maundy Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the inseparable happened, with Cypriots visiting supermarkets, butchers and bakeries. First on the list of dishes was lamb since, despite the fact that it was about 20% more expensive than in 2023, its sales soared. “K” sources state that the turnover from lamb alone and not from other types of meat amounted to around 10 million euros pan-Cypriot. In addition, the butchers declare that they are more satisfied compared to last year's Easter, since they sold out on Holy Saturday, since the traffic was particularly high. In addition, supermarkets received thousands of consumers who bought last-minute items and many that were on sale. “We are very happy compared to last year since the traffic from May Day onwards was very high. Of course, this is also due to our own efforts to hold prices and attractive offers. In fact, I also spoke with owners of smaller and more neighborhood supermarkets who reported that they are fully satisfied,” the executive secretary of the All Cyprus Association of Supermarkets, Mr. Andreas Hatziadamou, told “K”. Also, from the purchasing activity, it appeared that the Cypriots chose their homes instead of vacationing in a hotel accommodation or going on a trip to a tourist place outside their city of residence.
The turnover is only from the lamb and nothing else. types of meats amounted to approximately 10 million Euros in Cyprus.
Agritourism and leisure centers
The two sectors that had no buying movement, although they waited until Easter to cover the holes created by wars and inflation, are leisure centers and hotels. While the hoteliers expected to have satisfactory occupancy for the three days of Easter, it seems that the financial restraint of Cypriot consumers significantly affected the industry. At the same time, consumers did not choose to eat or drink outside the home. According to data released by the owners of leisure centers, their turnover dropped dramatically by 50% compared to the previous year. However, they seem to be optimistic, since they believe that the start of the summer season will also close the hole left by Easter. According to the president of the All-Cypriot Association of Leisure Center Owners (OSIKA) Neophytos Thrasyvoulos, the Catholic Easter, which did not coincide with the Orthodox Easter, also played an important role in the decrease, with the result that the volume of tourists was greatly reduced and also affected the restaurants. The owner of a small hotel unit, Mr. Markos Dupir, told “K” that “Small hotel units, especially those that offer agro-tourism, are waiting for Easter to start the summer season. Unfortunately this year our bookings were much reduced for the three days of Easter. Although every year our customers, mainly Cypriots, came at this particular time, this year they chose either their homes or their own villages.” Asked to comment on what should be done to protect small hotel units as well, he said: “There should be a coordinated plan for Cypriot tourism as a whole. Perhaps the creation of a national strategy would help strengthen our advantage”.
