18April 24, 2016 • SUNDAY MAIL

With more airlines fl ying into and out of the island, out-bound tourism in

Cyprus is changing. While it is a long time since there were few fl ights beyond the main markets of Greece and the UK, there are now direct fl ights to 49 destinations from Larnaca and an addi-tional 27 from Paphos.

And the fact that many of these new fl ights are operat-ed by budget airlines means more people are able to take advantage. “People travel a lot, in winter and summer as we are an island,” Akis Kel-epeshis, executive president of Top Kinisis travel said, “now they take advantage of low budget fl ights and other fl ights depending on the cost and the cost for hotels.

“In winter they make more short trips and in the sum-mer they will go for around two weeks. Around 300,000 travel twice or three times per year,” Kelepeshis added.

The bulk of people still go to Greece, even more than used to traditionally, although over the years the total amount of trips by Cypriots remained roughly the same overall at around 1,200,000 per year. Whereas in 2013 360,027 trav-elled to Greece, the numbers swelled to 466,086 in 2015. This is something that is re-fl ected in the routes offered by airlines.

“We fl y to Bucharest, Ath-ens, Thessaloniki and Con-stanta in Romania. Every

fl ight to Athens is full,” Pav-los Ioannou from Blue Air, a relative newcomer to the island said, adding “mostly they stay in Athens and Thessaloniki between three days and a week.”

Indeed, a profi ling survey

conducted for Hermes air-ports shows a preference for certain budget airlines by Cypriots. According to the survey, 83 per cent of travel-lers on outbound fl ights by Blue Air are Cypriot nation-als. In addition, 64 per cent

of outbound fl yers with Ryan Air are from Cyprus, and only 36 per cent are from other countries.

This doesn’t hold true to all budget airlines, however. Thomson Airlines for one is frequented more by foreign

nationals, with Cypriots us-ing up a mere 12 per cent of seats. This is in line with the fact that less Cypriots now travel to the UK. The num-bers have dwindled from 311,119 in 2012 to 186,857 in 2015.

“There are now less stu-dents in the UK,” Kelepeshis explained, “and so less fami-lies go to visit them. There are also less expats living here than before who used to go back and forth.”

Cypriots are also keen on travel to other places. “For long weekends, people tend-ed to travel mainly to Ath-ens and Thessaloniki,” As-tero Efstathiou from Louis Tours said. “There were not many destinations avail-able. Now, there is a bigger choice and people can travel further and get good deals, especially if they book well in advance.”

The changes have also af-fected travel agents. “The budget airlines mean that internet sales have soared,” Efstathiou said, “whereas a few years back people booked hotels on the inter-net, now they book the whole journey. This gives people more freedom, though it af-fects us.”

Cobalt Air, scheduled to start operations from June, is set to roll out entirely new routes to Europe, Asia and the Middle East using an initial fl eet of fi ve Airbus jet-liners. Their intended niche market includes China.

Transavia is another low budget airline which is tak-ing advantage of a niche. They offer two weekly di-rect fl ights to Amsterdam, formerly served by Cyprus Airways.

But while the public are taking up the cheap fl ights offered by the new airlines, not everybody is fond of budget airlines.

“After the closure of Cy-prus Airways, other airlines took advantage of the situ-ation and gave people no choice and only had crappy seats so it’s good that there are now other choices,” fre-quent fl yer Andreas Geor-giou commented.

He recently fl ew from Ath-ens with Emirates. “The fl ight was less than an hour,” he said, “I couldn’t believe it when the captain announced we were going to land in 10 minutes.” It was not only fast, he recalls, but also very comfortable. “The economy class was better than the fi rst class of other airlines,” he added. Emirates also offer fl ights to Dubai and Malta.

“It’s OK (to fl y with budget airlines) if you book ahead and you choose the dates carefully,” Anna Lantidou, who recently used a budget airline to spend an extend-ed weekend in Belgium, summed it up “if you are careful you get really good deals. If you just want to get somewhere and you don’t care about food and taking a lot of luggage it’s fi ne.”

Travel

A growing choice A growing choice of destinationsof destinationsWith the opening of new routes and airlines there is more choice than ever before for people in Cyprus looking to get off the island. Annette Chrysostomou looks at the changing landscape

Although new destinations are becoming available, Athens remains popular, especially for short trips

Blue Air is increasing its presence in Cyprus

19SUNDAY MAIL • April 24, 2016

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20April 24, 2016 • SUNDAY MAIL

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CYPRUS’ economy is evidently recover-ing. And with various unfortunate circum-

stances plaguing nearby competitive tourist destina-tions, all activity so far indi-cates that 2016 will be one of the greatest years for the island’s tourism sector. The gap left by the fall of Cyprus Airways and the rise in de-mand for travel to Cyprus has generated great inter-est for the aviation industry. Several existing airlines com-pete for market share, while new ones have sprung to fi ll the void. One such newcom-er is Cobalt, whose chairman is Gregory Diacou.

Apart from Diacou, who represents Cypriot own-ership and authority, Co-balt has announced that they have hired almost 100

former Cyprus Airways em-ployees to occupy cabin, crew and other important positions – including a large number of pilots. It is clear

that Cobalt, a Cypriot com-pany after all, strives to retain a Cypriot identity. There are however obvious foreign components in the company. The airline’s man-agement team is a group of aviation experts previously involved in consulting and managing low-cost carriers in much larger markets like Russia and Hong Kong. For them, Cobalt is a chance to capitalise on an opportu-nity identifi ed through their industry experience. Finally, to complete the formula of Cobalt’s formation, the com-pany is backed by a large Chinese corporation, based in Hong Kong. “A Fortune 500 company” as quoted by the Cobalt team.

Cobalt, being a privately owned airline, plans to avoid the costly mistakes made

by Cyprus Airways, while adopting all that was posi-tive. On top of employing the same cabin crew that main-tained a very proud and un-

blemished safety record for the former national carrier, Cobalt looks to take on that title on itself. ‘Cyprus’ new national carrier’ is the vision promoted by the chairman. The company intends to es-tablish the same emotional connection that many Cyp-riots previously had with Cyprus Airways.

There is certainly a great deal of promise shown so far, with the carrier set to commence with a fl eet of fi ve Airbus aircraft, namely A320 and A321. According to the airline’s plans, by July 2016, Cobalt will be fl y-ing from Larnaca to Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Chania, London, Manches-ter, East Midlands, Glas-gow, Cardiff, Dublin, Paris, Beirut, Tel Aviv and Tehran, with more destinations to be added by October 2016. The airline’s future plans include long-haul fl ights to the Far East and America. With regards to regulation, the company’s CEO, An-drew Pyne, said “we expect to secure the AOC license any time soon.” According to sources, the company’s fi rst plane has recently ar-rived, which was one of the last remaining obstacles for their license to be ap-proved.

Cobalt’s tagline ‘The Jour-ney is the Destination’, hints that the airline may hold some extra perks for passengers. Yet, Cobalt has declared that they will be operating a low-cost model. This seems like the leading choice for modern success-

ful airlines, as we can see a trend in which for most, air travel becomes less about comfort and luxury, and more about the comfort of our pocket. Ryanair for ex-ample, is set to overtake the Lufthansa Group as the biggest airline in Eu-rope this year. In terms of extra benefi ts that Cobalt fl yers will have, the CEO has mentioned, “innovation and technology will be in-volved” but avoided going into detail just yet, in order to “protect the company’s

secrets from the competi-tion.” Moreover, Pyne added that “we will treat passen-gers as our customers and not as a commodity” hint-ing that Cobalt’s customers will be treated more agree-ably than those of compet-ing low-cost carriers.

The benefi t of a Cyprus-based low-cost carrier is clear to most Cypriots. It’s choice. It will add choice to a currently disappointing set of options for travelers with discouraging prices to consider. A fairly priced,

healthy airline should allow Cypriot residents to travel to popular destinations without having to break the bank. Should the airline succeed, the island would have much to gain, includ-ing macroeconomic growth. Pyne characteristically re-fused to mention the exact size the of the foreign invest-ment for Cobalt, but noted “it is a mega investment for Cyprus, certainly the fi rst of its size since the 2013 bail-in…. potentially hundreds of millions of Euros”.

Cabin crew at the press conference held by the airline last week

‘A fairly priced, healthy airline should allow Cypriot residents to travel to popular destinations without having to break the bank. Should the airline succeed, the island would have much to gain’

A look into Cobalt, Cyprus’ new airline

Promising a low cost model with ith a wide range of destinations, Cobalt is due to start operating an impressive timetable by July

21SUNDAY MAIL • April 24, 2016

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22April 24, 2016 • SUNDAY MAIL

Travel

THERE’S a never end-ing selection of things to do in Amsterdam in any weather – so

whether you’re visiting for the weekend or for a fort-night, here’s your essential checklist of the best Am-sterdam attractions and unmissable experiences in the ‘Venice of the North’.

Hop on your bikeThere are over 800,000 bi-

cycles in Amsterdam. That’s more bikes than people! Cy-cling in Amsterdam is a way of life, made easier by the city’s unbeatable network of cycle routes and fl at land-scape. Amsterdam regularly comes out on top in lists of the world’s most cycle-friendly cities, and there’s no fi ner way to explore the city’s streets, canals and attractions than by pedal power. Cycling in Amster-dam is safe, enjoyable and invigorating - so join the lo-cals and hop on your bike.

Soak up some culture in Museumplein

Home to the Rijksmu-seum, the Van Gogh Mu-seum and the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, Museumplein is the cultur-al beating heart of Amster-dam. Having recently been renovated to a world class standard, the leafy 19th century district of Oud-Zuid is an art lover’s uto-pia, and the open square between the buildings pulses with activity all day; with open-air exhibitions, markets and a large pad-

dling pool to dip your toes into on warmer days. In the winter months, the square transforms with a vast out-door ice rink.

Take a canal cruiseCreated in the 17th cen-

tury to keep the sea at bay, Amsterdam’s UNESCO protected canal belt is the quintessential picture-postcard vision of Amster-dam, and an unbelievably pretty sight by both day and night - when the bridg-es are lit up by fairy lights and the whole area takes on a magical feel. Floating along the canals by guided boat tour is a great way to get under the fabric of the city, and you’ll learn lots of fascinating facts along the way – such as why the tilting homes along the ca-nals are known as ‘dancing houses’. There are many different canal cruises to choose from, from hop-on-hop-off sightseeing tours to atmospheric candlelit night time cruises with food and wine.

Visit Anne Frank HouseRefl ect on the atrocities

committed against the Jewish people during World War II at the Prinsengracht house where diarist Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis for two years after feeling perse-cution in Germany. The front of the house is now a thought-provoking muse-um but the back annex has been preserved to give an idea of what life was like for Anne and the families she

hid with. Waiting times are often lengthy; so visit early in the morning or book on-line in advance to beat the queues.

Go beer tasting at a windmill

There are eight remain-ing windmills in Amster-dam, the most easy to

visit being de Gooyer in the Oostelijke Eilanden (Eastern Islands) neigh-bourhood. And this isn’t just any windmill – for un-der the sails of this strik-ing landmark is Brouwerij ‘Tij; an award winning ar-tisan microbrewery with a large outdoor drinking ter-race and 30-minute guided tasting tours.

Wake up and smell the tulips

Yes, they’re as clichéd as clogs, but Tulips are a de-fi nitive symbol of Dutch culture, and a trip to the Netherlands wouldn’t be complete without feasting your eyes on these beauti-ful blooms. The most fa-mous place to buy tulips and bulbs in Amsterdam is at the Bloemenmarkt – the world’s only fl oating fl ow-er market which lines the Singel with colourful fl ow-er stalls. If you’re visiting Amsterdam in spring, then take the short 20-minute trip out to the world fa-

mous tulip fi elds (Bollen-streek) – stretching out in colourful stripes across miles of lowland fi elds be-tween Harleem and Lei-den. To understand more about the Netherlands’ long love affair with Tulips, a visit to the Amsterdam Tulip Museum in the Jor-daan is a must.

Take a day trip from Amsterdam

If you’re in town for more than a few days, then head out of the city to explore the diverse attractions of the surrounding area. Just a short hop from Amster-dam lies a rich landscape of gorgeous countryside, beaches, castles, windmills and historic towns – all eas-ily reachable from the city centre. Just 20 minutes from Amsterdam Central by train, the picturesque city of Haarlem overfl ows with history and culture, plus a great selection of shops, cafes and restau-rants. In the surround-

ing countryside you’ll also fi nd plenty of old castles, fortifi ed towns and ruins, of which Muiden is one of the most spectacular ex-amples.

Visit a market in Amsterdam

Whether you’re looking to snag a bargain, try some local delicacies or just soak up the atmosphere, visiting one of the many markets in Amsterdam is a unique and unforgettable experi-ence. Markets selling eve-rything from antiques to books and artisan food to vintage clothes are held all over the city every day. Some of the most popular Amsterdam markets in-clude the Albert Cuypmar-ket in De Pijp (Mon - Sat) Westerstraat market in the Jordaan (held on Monday mornings), the fl oating fl ower market on the Sin-gel (Mon - Sat) and the Waterlooplein fl ea market (Mon – Sat) near the Rem-brandt House.

What to do in Amsterdam With its picturesque canal network, rich history and vibrant cultural scene, the capital of the Netherlands is one of the world’s most unique city destinations

A visit to the Amsterdam

Tulip Museum in the Jordaan

is a must

Tulips are a defi nitive symbol of Dutch culture, buy them at the Bloemenmarkt

Amsterdam’s UNESCO protected canal belt

‘Venice of the North’: Amsterdam

23SUNDAY MAIL • April 24, 2016

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Flights to Amsterdam are operated from Larnaca and Paphos.