President Nikos Christodoulides chaired an emergency meeting with tourism sector stakeholders at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday, as the government sought to coordinate a response to the damage the US-led war against Iran has inflicted on Cyprus’s image as a destination.
Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the meeting brought together the ministers of transport and labour alongside the deputy minister of tourism for an extensive review of conditions and a coordinated plan of action.
“What was confirmed is our shared commitment to preserving the country’s tourism product — a sector that in recent years has shown an upward trend, owing to very hard, intensive and methodical work,” Letymbiotis told reporters after the meeting.
He said flight schedules from most airlines were gradually being restored, which he described as a positive sign pointing toward a return to normality given the time of year.
Letymbiotis pushed back strongly against what he characterised as distorted international media coverage of conditions in Cyprus, saying life on the island remained entirely normal.
“There is an image being presented mainly by international media which I think is marked by exaggeration,” he said. “Life in our country, as you well know, is going on normally. It in no way corresponds to the exaggerations we often see from international media.”
Asked whether a public information campaign was being planned, the spokesperson appealed directly to journalists to help correct the record. “We need the contribution of all of us, and mainly your contribution as members of the media, by presenting what the real picture is,” he said.
He added that efforts to project an accurate image of Cyprus would need to be intensified by both the government and the relevant sector bodies, so that the actual conditions on the island were more widely reflected.
The government said stakeholders had agreed to remain in close coordination in the coming period, with further meetings possible as joint action plans are developed and activated.
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