Deal Sought In Eurocypria Rift
Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides has given his assurances that British tourists will not be lost over a rift between Eurocypria and UK travel firm Olympic Holidays.
The minister made the pledge after discussing the issue of contract renewal with Olympic Holidays board member, Nicos Mylonas.
“First of all, no tourist who wants or plans to come to Cyprus will be lost. All tourists who can come to Cyprus will come.”
Paschalides called on both parties to reach an amicable cooperation deal in order to support the island’s struggling tourism industry.
He has taken on a peace-making role and believes Eurocypria and Olympic Holidays will soon get back to the negotiating table to iron out their differences.
The cash-strapped carrier reduced the number of flights made available from the UK, opting to beef up its schedules to Crete . So, Olympic had 20,000 less Cyprus packages to sell than last year under the new contract offered to them.
The UK tour operator is a big supplier of British tourists to Cyprus and failure to broker a deal could see thousands going elsewhere at a time when arrivals are on the slide.
“We will have contacts with Eurocypria and any other agency to ensure that any pending issues or misunderstandings are resolved and real solutions are reached.”
Mylonas said Olympic had not requested favourable treatment or made any financial demands on the government.
“The minister has promised to promote specific actions which in our opinion can only help Cyprus’s tourism industry.” Said Mylonas
“I want to convey that Olympic Holidays is here to support the entire tourist industry of Cyprus. “
He said the tour operator has made arrangements with another airline to ferry 20,000 British tourists to Cyprus who were ar risk in not coming because of Eurocypria’s reduced flight schedule.
Mylones said the two organisations should not behave as if they were competitors.
“We compliment each other. We can with good faith, professionalism and honesty cooperate for the good of Cyprus.”
“We are ready to cooperate; I hope Eurocypria can do the same.” Eurocypria said hadn’t cancelled any deals but the agreement with Olympic had come up for re-negotiation after the previous one expired.
The state-owned charter firm said it is contracted to fly 280,000 tourists to Cyprus this year from 20 countries-an increase of 20% on 2009.
However, the airline’s bid to open a market in Iran came unstuck when the inaugural flight was turned back after Tehran objected to Eurocypria flying through Iroqi air space. The issue has since been resolved.
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