Marking 90 years of service since the founding of PASYXE, the outgoing President of the Association, Thanos Michailidis, delivered a review, highlighting the historic achievements the sector recorded in 2025. At the same time, Giannos Pantazis was elected unopposed to take the helm of the organization.

As he noted in his speech, last year was marked by a record exceeding 4.5 million arrivals and generated nearly 3.7 billion euros in revenue, with the United Kingdom and Israel leading the way among source markets. This upward trend was also reflected in the annual bed occupancy rate, which reached 55.5%, confirming the hotel industry’s pivotal role as a long-standing driving force of the Cypriot economy.

Read more: Giannos Pantazis: Who Is the New President of PASYXE

However, the positive momentum of 2026 was abruptly reversed in mid-February due to the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East, which caused serious upheaval in the sector.

According to a PASYXE survey conducted in collaboration with ITEP, March and April saw a sharp drop in bookings and massive cancellations of around 30%, a negative trend that continued to some extent through June. Faced with these intense pressures, Mr. Michailidis expressed his gratitude to the government for approving the Special Employment Support Plan, which was implemented in April, emphasizing that protecting jobs and retaining staff are the top priorities for shielding the sector.

In response to current challenges, the Association submitted a set of realistic proposals aimed at strengthening the resilience of the tourism product, advocating for the establishment of a Crisis Management Team and a permanent Advisory Body in collaboration with the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.

At the same time, the long-standing request for the creation of a Single Licensing Authority (One-Stop Shop) aimed at reducing bureaucracy, as hotel businesses are currently forced to deal with approximately 12 different government departments.

On the topic of technological advancement, Mr. Michailidis announced the creation of the innovative digital platform “Xenios Analytics,” which will enable comprehensive and data-driven analysis of hotel performance and operating costs.

Concluding his speech, the outgoing President focused on the major challenge of the labor shortage, emphasizing that the key challenge is to provide the right incentives to encourage Cypriot workers to return to tourism professions, in a sector that employed a total of over 50,000 people in 2025.

The meeting was also deeply emotional, as Mr. Michaelides officially handed over the leadership of PASYXE after a three-year term, assuring everyone, however, that he was stepping down with a clear conscience and that he would remain firmly at the forefront of the collective effort for the future of Cypriot tourism.

An “antidote” to the losses

The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, from the podium of the PASYXE Annual General Assembly. The President made special mention of last year’s record-breaking season, during which 4.5 million arrivals and 3.7 billion euros in revenue were recorded, emphasizing that this impressive trajectory was not a fluke, but rather the result of methodical collaboration between the public and private sectors that is already bearing fruit in the long-term effort to transform Cyprus into a year-round destination.

Referring to the current challenges of 2026, Mr. Christodoulides acknowledged that the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East inevitably affected the industry during the first months of the year, but he described the losses in flight seats and package tours as entirely manageable. He noted that the government acted immediately to instill a sense of security and safeguard flights, while calling on the hotel industry to actively take advantage of targeted economic support measures, as the number of applications remains limited so far. As an immediate “countermeasure” to the losses incurred in March and April, he set the goal of extending the support period through the end of November.

Regarding long-term planning, the President highlighted the recently approved National Tourism Strategy 2035 as the official roadmap for the next decade, which aims to develop alternative forms of tourism and spread the economic benefits to remote and mountainous areas. At the same time, regarding connectivity, he confirmed that Nicosia is working on the basis of a specific plan to open up new major markets, announcing that following the launch of flights from Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Transport is in advanced discussions to establish air links with India.

In conclusion, Mr. Christodoulides praised the level of infrastructure and the expertise of Cypriot hoteliers, which played a decisive role in the excellent image the country projected during the recent conclusion of Cyprus’s Presidency of the Council of the EU. At the same time, in light of the Association’s election process, he expressed his heartfelt thanks to the outgoing president of PASYXE, Thanos Michaelides, for his multifaceted contributions, expressing his confidence that close institutional cooperation will continue seamlessly with the new Board of Directors.

Passing the Baton

A change of leadership at PASYXE, with Mr. Thanos Michailidis handing over the Association’s presidency to Mr. Giannos Pantazis after three years of service, during PASYXE’s Annual General Assembly.

In his first statement as the new President of PASYXE, Mr. Giannos Pantazis praised the invaluable contributions and work carried out by Mr. Thanos Michailidis, expressing his confidence that although he is stepping down from the presidency, he will continue to stand by the Association. “Fully aware of the responsibility, I am taking on this role with the goal of strengthening, to the greatest extent possible, the progress of the country’s hotel industry and tourism. I will work to live up to the trust that PASYXE members have placed in me, and I look forward to a constructive collaboration with the General Director, the secretariat, and the members of the Board of Directors and the Association as a whole.”

In addition to the change in the presidency, the Annual General Meeting also elected the new PASYXE Board of Directors, consisting of:
Vice President – Andreas Kapetanios
First Vice President – Panagiotis Konstantinou
Second Vice President – Andreas Tsokkos
Secretary – Jason Perdios
Treasurer – Alexios Chrysafinis
Member – Christiana Iakovidou
Member – Christos Tsanos
Member – Marios Poliviou
Member – Panagiotis Konstantinou
Member – Euripides Loizidis
Member – Andreas Mantalas
, Member – Athina Loizidou
, Member – Aris Aristidou
, Member – Nikos Katsounotos
, Member – Ioanna Florentiadou
, Member – Anna Michaelidou
, Member – Themis Philippides
, Member – Marinos Kounnas
, Member – Agathoklis Konstantinou
, Member – Marilena Konstantinou
, Member – Giorgos Tofinis

In his farewell speech, the outgoing President of PASYXE, Thanos Michaelides, emphasized that he is stepping down from his position with a clear conscience, while remaining an active supporter of the collective effort to support and strengthen Cypriot tourism. Mr. Michaelides expressed his special thanks to the Board of Directors, the Association’s members, and the Government for the cooperation that developed during his tenure.