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Cyprus hopes over 400,000 RF citizens will visit it in 2012

Totally, in 2011 a total of 2.4 million people visited Cyprus

NICOSIA, February 11 (Itar-Tass) — Cyprus hopes that over 400,000 Russian tourists will visit the republic this year.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation said it had increased the number of Russian cities where flights will be made to Cyprus.

An agreement to this effect was reached during a visit to Russia by chairman of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation Alekos Orountiotis on February 6-9. The Cypriot official held talks with several Russian tour operators. He said in 2012 flights to Cyprus would be made from Moscow and St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Rostov on Don, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Tyumen, Kemerovo, Arkhangelsk and Perm.

In recent years the tourist inflow from Russia to Cyprus has increased by about 50 percent. In 2010 about 225,000 Russian tourists visited the Mediterranean island. Last year Cyprus was visited by 334,000 Russian tourists. In 2004 only 83,800 Russian tourists were in the Republic of Cyprus.

Russia ranks second on Cyprus’ tourist market. Britain takes the lead. In 2011 a total of one million people from Britain visited Cyprus. In addition, according to local experts, Britain faces stagnation: the tourist inflow increased by 2 percent in 2011.

Totally, in 2011 a total of 2.4 million people visited Cyprus.

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