Hoteliers are expecting a boost in arrivals from the UK during the Easter Holidays as the Western Easter  this year coincides with the Greek Orthodox Easter and the Royal Wedding in London four  days later on April 29 is a Bank Holiday in Britain.

Cyprus Hotel Association (CHA) director  general Zacharias Ionnides  told: “For many  Brits, it is a unique opportunity to take their summer holidays early and Cyprus is among the destinations  they choose due  to its favourable warm climate and the cirsis in many North African resorts including  many to other Mediterranean destinations including Cyprus.

“It is premature to make indications for the whole of the summer season but April is expected to record a healthy growth  compared to last year, considering that on  April 16 ,2010 the eruption of the Icelandic volcano took place paralysing European skies for a fortnight,” he added. Arrivals from Britain recorded a 20% drop in March 2011.

Outgoing tourism is around 7% to 8% up during the Easter Holidays with Cypriots mainly travelling to Greece, said former president of the of the Cyprus Travel Agents Association (ACTA)

Akis Kelepeshis.

“The economic crisis has affected tourism put people will not stop travelling.

“We will see the effects of the economic downturn in the summer when masses are travelling. Now those who usually travel during Easter will still travel this year and Greece is the most popular destination,” he said.

“there are five charter flights to Corfu,Chios, Rhodes, Crete and Mytillini and Cypriots are travelling there for Easter. Other popular destinations this years are Athens, the Peloponnese, Salonica and Halkidiki,”he added.

Meanwhile, some 500 German travel agents visited Cyprus earlier this month for an educational workshop organised by giant tour operator Thomas Cook.

The German travel agents and a small number of Austria and Swiss travel agents, accompanied by foreign journalist  paid  a seven-day visit to Cyprus and participated in the “Travel Games” aiming to boost team spirit and cooperation.

The project is expected to bring major benefits for Cyprus as a tourist destination since participants had firsthand knowledge of the island and became familiar with Cyprus’ product, Cyprus tourism Organisation (CTO) announcement has said.

This will help them become more effective in promoting packages to Cyprus.

Thomas Cook brings a significant number of holiday makers to the island every year and it is one of main associates of the CTO in Germany.

The German market is a priority market for Cyprus tourism and total of 139,000 German holiday makers visited Cyprus in 2010.

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With the civil unrest tensions around the Middle East ,Northern Cyprus is witnessing something of  a tourism renaissance.

Hotel Bookings are up for the year and people are seeing real value for money in the Turkish Lira  when compared to other Euro Destinations.

The poses a real problem for northern Cyprus .

Unlike the south of island which can boast up to 100,000  five star hotel beds per year, northern Cyprus has less than 10,000 available .

While the south is in Europe and benefits from higher tourist demand year on year compared to the North , it is in fact the North  that looks in need of further hotel based investment.

Quality simply, there are not enough hotels. With the focus switching towards the    `Cyprus Solution`, international recognition for the North  would leave the Northern Cyprus Turkish Republic with a dire shortage of hotel rooms compared to the disproportionate increase in tourism.

A solution is required which provides for more hotels to be built, along with an attractive return for would-behotel room o investors. The solution is as simple as the problem.

Hotel room investment has become a worldwide term, and with its origins in the US and the UK , great deal of investors have made some fantastic returns while at the same time solving the issue of attracting investment into the hotel sector.

The idea of hotel room investment is a simple one and a win win for all involved. The investor receives a yearly return on his investment (which is generally higher than the usual apartment or villa rental income) and the end user has a high quality hotel room. The investor has the added benefit of a `hands of` investment, with the hotel operator taking care of the daily running, marketing and rental of the room.

All income generated from the letting of the rooms is pooled together and divided equally between the hotel room owners.

This offers clear advantages and opportunities to the property and tourism sector in northern Cyprus. it  is a tried and tested formula used time and time again throughout the Western investment world, and for an expanding country such as northern Cyprus,  this provides a solution to the shortage of hotel rooms along with the attraction for individuals to invest in the country.

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The second of the Northern Cyprus’s Bafra Tourism Area five-Star hotels is set to open next month-two years later than scheduled.

The Noah’s Ark resort, built to resemble the biblical ark, was initially due for completion, along with the whole Bafra project of 13 themed hotels in 2009.

It is set to officially open on Thursday, May 19-the bank holiday marking National Youth and Sport day-although could be open to guests a few days before.

It sits in 165,000m2 on the Bafra  coastline and has been landscaped to include a holiday village, aquapark and swimming pools.

There will also be four tennis courts, a football pitch and watersports. An open-air cinema completes the luxury development, which offers two restaurants, a spa and wellness centre, disco and basement casino.

The 1,250 bed complex was originally set to cost  $25million, but the latest estimate is about $96,5 million. Photographs, rustic faux ships timbers and biblical quotes are features of the rooms.

Marketing manager Pelin Uslu said: “Booking are looking good and we plan to open between May 15 and 19.”

She  added May 19 could see a special celebration but would not confirm any concerts or events saying: “ There will be a protocol ceremony on that day.”

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A March  poll of members of the Cyprus Turkish Hoteliers’ union has revealed the majority  are still optimistic about future prospects  for tourism.

This comes on the back of worsening fortunes  for the traditional hotel sector in northern Cyprus while the new casino hotels have proved more able to attract guests.

The research, conducted by the union, said that only one in 10 of  its members felt the general outlook was good at the moment, with 78 per cent saying it was bad and 12 per cent as `vary bad`.

However , 60 per cent said they expected the situation to improve in the next couple of years.

The biggest problem, on the back of the failure of Cyprus Turkish Airlines last years; remains transport. Nearly nine out of 10 hoteliers voiced concerns on this issue, with the lack of direct flights and cheap flights, on a par with south Cyprus, an ongoing problem.

Nearly a third said a lack of promotion of northern Cyprus was worry, while a quarter said costs were a major hurdle.

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The Artemis Hotel, which was designed preserving the original fantastic  architecture of Artemis Temple  offers its guests the most pleasurable  5 star  holidays with the most beautiful coast of northern , exotic beach , magnificent  Las Vegas style  entertainment and with the climate that creates holiday atmosphere for four seasons.

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