NICOSIA, March 10. /TASS/. The tourism industry of Cyprus is short of about 1 billion euros due to the loss of Russian tourists, Russian Ambassador to Nicosia Murat Zyazikov said in an interview with TASS.

According to him, in 2022, the citizens of Cyprus could fully feel the negative consequences of the EU sanctions policy: the cost of electricity soared by 70%, inflation reached record levels, fuel and food prices are rising.

"In 2022, the island received 3.1 million tourists, which is 80% of the record pre-pandemic 2019 (then the figure was 3.9 million - TASS). Due to the cancellation of air traffic with Russia, Cyprus missed about 800,000 Russians," the Ambassador said.

"From the above figures, it is clear that the island failed to compensate for the flow of our compatriots. According to the Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus, tourist expenses in 2022 amounted to 88 euros per day. Assuming that the average vacation lasts 14 days, then the tourism industry of Cyprus is short of at least 1 billion euros because of the loss of the Russian segment in the past year," he said.

The head of the Russian diplomatic mission also drew attention to the fact that a number of Russian companies were forced to leave the Cypriot jurisdiction, primarily those that fell under EU sanctions. In addition to the loss of investments, this also means the loss of tens and hundreds of jobs, he noted.