The cost of accommodation in the popular Turkish resort of Bodrum for travel over the next couple of months dropped by a quarter last week due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Hotel prices in Cyprus for April and May were down 12%, according to the FT, which took its data from hotel-price tracking site Lighthouse Intelligence.
The paper quoted Cypriot hotel chain Muskita Hotels saying it had seen ‘a wave of cancellations’ for holidays in March and April, as well a ‘a steep slowdown’ in bookings for the rest of the year.
Natasha Michaelides, Director at Thanos Hotels and Resorts, which has four hotels in Cyprus, also reported ‘a flurry’ of cancellations.
UK tour operators, including TUI and Jet2holidays, are sticking by their normal cancellation charges for both destinations.
The Foreign Office is not advising against travel to either Cyprus or Turkey due to the ongoing Middle East conflict war, but it is warning that ‘regional escalation poses significant security risks and has led to travel disruption,’
On 2 March, a drone hit the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus, causing flights to be temporarily suspended.
And British navy destroyer HMS Dragon has just arrived in Cyprus, which some fear could further put off travellers.
EasyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis told the FT: “If you look at a map of Europe, we saw obviously a drop in demand in Cyprus and Turkey and that side of Africa.”
However, he said demand for the Balearic Islands Canary Islands and Cape Verde had increased.
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides announced it would support the wages of employees in the hotel industry in April.
Meanwhile, Egypt has revamped its incentives to airlines to about $4,000 for each flight they land that is 60%, lower than a previous requirement of 75%, according to the FT.
