Cyprus – A new airport hoped to boost flagging tourism has opened in Larnaca with hopes of becoming a regional transport hub.
Cypriot President Demetris Christofias opened the new terminal, built by a consortium of French and Cypriot companies, at a ceremony attended by 2,000 guests including French European Affairs Minister Pierre Lellouche.
"The opening of this airport serves as a landmark in the history of tourism development and the island's infrastructure in general," Christofias said.
"This work plays a significant role in upgrading Cyprus as a main transit hub in the coming decades."
The 100,000sqm high-tech terminal means Larnaca airport has the capacity to handle passenger traffic of up to 7.5 million people annually with a provision to extend this to nearly 10 million when the need arises.
Officials hope the new airport will also attract foreign investment to Cyprus. The Mediterranean island attracts around 2.5 million tourists a year from mainly EU countries, but the global financial crisis has seen arrivals decline by almost 11 per cent and revenue slide 16 percent in the first nine months.
Two new initiatives should help the promotion and development of the meetings market in Cyprus, these include the newly launched Conference Incentive Meetings Association, set up to facilitate the development of this sector. And the Ambassadors in Tourism programme launched by Cyprus Tourism organisation where volunteers, members of international organisations, association members and business travellers will promote the destination for international congresses and meetings.
