Nicosia's boutique hotel scene flourishes amid tourism surge

Seeking accommodation in a hotel in Nicosia for February, the search yields 22 options. Narrowing the search by distance from the city center results in fewer choices, yet still satisfactory. Twelve boutique units, primarily small boutique hotels, emerge from the search on booking.com.

This trend appears to attract both investors and visitors, with consistently high occupancy rates due to the limited number of available rooms. While typically new brands dominate, the landscape is shifting with the Thanos Hotels group (Almyra, Annabelle, Anassa) investing in Nicosia. Thanos Michaelides, the group's CEO, aims to offer tourists a unique choice, promoting it in conjunction with stays at their beach hotels in Paphos. The forthcoming unit, Amyth, is slated to welcome its first guests in September 2024.

Amyth boasts ten rooms and 1-2 bedroom suites. Housed in a building owned by the Archbishopric, it sits a few meters from the Archbishopric of Cyprus and the Byzantine Museum, facing the Mansion of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios, now home to the Ethnological Museum of Cyprus.

The hotel's interiors, dating back to the early 1990s, retain traditional details that complement Nicosia's historic ambiance. Nicosia offers visitors an authentic Cyprus experience, according to Mr. Michaelides, attracting those seeking more than just accommodation but an immersion in preserved heritage within the city center.

Alongside Amyth, recent additions like the boutique hotels Madama and Gate22 enrich accommodation options in the historic heart of the capital, offering both lodging and refined dining experiences, well-received by Nicosia's visitors.

According to the owner of Madama hotel, which offers six suites in central Nicosia, Old Nicosia thrives, with high occupancy rates since mid-2022. Tourist demographics vary, with winter bookings comprising business travelers and summer attracting more traditional tourists from Europe, America, Canada, and Israel.

A significant proportion of visitors are repeat tourists. The President of the Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO) in Nicosia, Theodoros Kringos, notes an overall increase in overnight stays, with projections indicating further growth in 2024. The influx of boutique hotels in the city center enhances Nicosia's hospitality sector, signaling promising prospects for tourism in the capital.

The addition of Amyth by Thanos Hotels, alongside the refurbishment of the Landmark hotel (a Marriott International member), reflects confidence in Nicosia's tourism potential and enhances the destination's competitiveness.

Nicosia can leverage four key elements for tourism promotion, as highlighted by the CTO: its rich culture and civilization, religious tourism, and gastronomy. With the completion of a new museum, cultural tourism prospects are ripe, presenting an opportunity to showcase Nicosia's cultural heritage alongside other museums and businesses in the historic center.

The CTO aims for Nicosia to become a multicultural destination, boasting over five religious monuments within the city. A dedicated route, encompassing all religious sites, has been developed and promoted to visitors.

Gastronomy presents another avenue for Nicosia's development, with significant improvements in recent years. This was underscored during the Wiz 50 Best Restaurants awards, organized by Wiz Guide, SppMedia, and the Bank of Cyprus. The CTO's "Taste Nicosia" campaign and the signature welcome drink initiative aim to elevate Nicosia's culinary offerings, enhancing the dining experience within the city walls. The CTO's efforts also include upgrading its website and launching the "Visit Nicosia guide tour" application, currently in a pilot phase.

[This article was translated from its Greek original]