British tourists are cancelling holidays to Cyprus as fears grow over the escalating conflict with Iran, with the island nation feeling the immediate impact of the US-led offensive. Cyprus, the EU member closest to the Middle East, saw a drone strike on the British base of RAF Akrotiri late on Sunday, prompting the British Foreign Office to update its travel advice to warn that terrorist attacks could not be ruled out.
Vassilis Georgiou, who runs a water sports business in the resort of Ayia Napa, said hoteliers were reporting a drop in bookings. 'People are thinking twice,' he said. The island attracted 4 million visitors last year, a third of them Britons, but this year's season is under threat as flights from east and west have been cancelled.
Despite the tensions, many tourists already on the island remain unfazed. Karin and Oliver Kiilaspa, visiting from Estonia with their baby daughter, said they chose not to cancel. 'We wanted to think positively,' said Karin. Danish retiree Marianne Steglich echoed the sentiment: 'I wasn't going to miss it because of what they are doing.'
Local residents, some with memories of the 1974 Turkish invasion, dismiss the current safety concerns. 'When you've seen the skies full of parachutes and bombs going off, then you get afraid. This, today, is a picnic,' said a shopkeeper named Evros.
Kostas Koumis, the Cypriot deputy tourism minister, acknowledged that while Cyprus had survived similar crises before, this time was different due to the hostile incident on its own soil. The island is now bracing for a potential downturn in its vital tourism industry.
