Famagusta tourism bodies are working with their counterparts in Larnaca, Hermes Airports and major tour operators to secure more flights in March and November 2027, in a push that could extend the district’s tourism season by around two months.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to reduce the free Famagusta district’s heavy reliance on the summer season. The area accounts for 42% of Cyprus’s tourist accommodation capacity, the highest share of any district, but Ayia Napa and Protaras typically operate at full capacity for only about six months, even in a strong tourism year.
Figures for October 2025, a record year for Cyprus tourism, illustrate the challenge. Only 20% of all arrivals that month stayed in the free Famagusta district.
Local tourism bodies have spent years trying to attract more visitors during the winter months, with mixed results. Until recently, Ayia Napa and Protaras also operated largely as competing destinations.
That changed in summer 2024, when the two municipalities agreed to work together. Since then, they have sought to broaden the area’s tourism offering and gradually extend the season by attracting both Cypriot and foreign visitors.
Famagusta Tourism Board chairman Giorgos Tofinis told Phileleftheros that the strategy was based on the recognition that year-round tourism could not be achieved immediately.
“It is a strategy that needs time, proper planning, incentives and cooperation between the public and private sectors, and it certainly cannot be achieved overnight,” he said.
International sporting events, cultural events, festivals, concerts, Christmas activities and experiences centred on nature and the district’s inland communities are among the main areas being developed, he said.
According to Tofinis, initiatives introduced in recent years show that the district’s tourism model is gradually being upgraded and expanded with new activities and experiences.
Cooperation with Larnaca
The cooperation between the Famagusta Tourism Board and the Famagusta Hoteliers Association and their counterparts in Larnaca is seen as particularly important to efforts to extend the 2027 tourism season.
The organisations are in talks with Hermes Airports and major tour operators to add more flights in March and November next year. If successful, the move could lengthen the tourism season by about two months.
At the same time, a coordinated online campaign promoting the Famagusta district in overseas markets is running for a third consecutive year. In 2026, the campaign will continue through the autumn and part of the winter.
Famagusta Hoteliers Association chairman Panayiotis Constantinou said the timing was important because these months play a key role in booking flows, both for last-minute autumn and winter holidays and for summer 2027 bookings.
The campaign is being carried out by the Famagusta Hoteliers Association in close cooperation with the Famagusta Tourism Board, with financial support from the municipalities of Ayia Napa and Paralimni-Deryneia, Bank of Cyprus and hoteliers operating in the area.
Constantinou said dozens of tourist accommodation businesses in Protaras and Ayia Napa would remain open until the end of November this year, although only a small number of hotels would stay open through the winter.
He said more accommodation businesses were likely to remain open as efforts to extend the season intensified and visitor numbers increased.
However, he said “the contribution of the state is also needed in this direction, as appropriate incentives and mechanisms are essential to support these initiatives”.
Sport moves to the forefront
Sport is one of the sectors receiving particular attention from tourism bodies in the free Famagusta district as they seek to extend the season.
Tofinis said sporting events and winter training camps for teams together represent an important source of visitors. Sport, he added, “is no longer treated simply as a parallel activity, but as a tourism product in its own right”.
This year’s calendar includes the first Cablenet Famagusta Run in Protaras on 11 October and the SwimRun on 17 and 18 October 2026.
The fourth International Dragon Boat Regatta will be held at Ayia Napa Marina on 10 and 11 October, while OceanMan will return to Ayia Napa from 6 to 8 November 2026.
Events will continue through the winter, with Ayia Napa hosting the fourth International Winter Swimmers Festival from 16 to 19 January 2027.
Football has also long attracted visitors during the winter months, particularly to Ayia Napa, Tofinis said, through tournaments and team training camps between January and April.
The third Elite Neon Cup will take place from 13 to 15 March 2027, adding another international event to the calendar.
Together with Ayia Napa’s long-running annual academy football tournament, it attracts hundreds of visitors during a period when tourism activity is otherwise limited.
The sixth Run4Autism race will also take place in Ayia Napa on 28 March 2027.
Culture, history and the natural environment are also key parts of the district’s efforts to attract visitors during quieter periods.
The Ayia Napa Medieval Festival, which draws visitors from several countries, will run from 14 to 18 October 2026.
The Cyprus Rocks Festival is currently taking place in the Pernera area of Paralimni and will end on 6 October.
The Ayia Napa Biennale will run from 7 November until 7 January 2027, while the Thalassa Municipal Museum is planning family activities during November and December.
The Famagusta Tourism Board’s Endless Sun programme will also restart in November and run until March, aiming to enhance visitors’ experience by giving them opportunities to connect with the roots, culture and traditions of the district’s inland communities.
