The Government yesterday announced a partnership with private enterprise geared at boosting tourist arrivals and bringing in much-needed foreign cash.

The deal between the government and Hermes Airports - operators of the island’s two airports - concerns giving incentives to travellers coming to Cyprus mainly from new points of origin.

It was announced after a meeting in Nicosia between President Demetris Christofias and the chairman of Hermes Airports Nicos Shacolas.

One of the agreements provides for a €25 subsidy per passenger - shared equally between the two partners - from new points of origin, and the second for a €4 government subsidy per tourist for existing points of origin. Hermes Airports will be contributing €10 per passenger for the second scheme.

Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said total expenditure for both schemes would amount to €6 million, but stressed it would have a multiplier positive effect on the economy at large.

He said this was further proof of how the AKEL administration was open to synergies between the state and the private sector and of its proactive approach to the tourism industry.

Shacolas said they have struck a deal with a major foreign airline - which he did not name - to offer €25 per arriving passenger from airports which thus far had no links with the island.

The new links to Cyprus would be from points of origin in Russia, the Middle East and several airports in southern and northern Europe, he said.

Under this deal, he said, the airline in question has guaranteed a minimum of 400,000 passengers per year. It goes into effect as of this autumn.

Combined, the two schemes are projected to bring some 500,000 additional tourists in 2012, Shiakolas said. Given the arrangement was valid for a five-year period, it would generate an extra €2 billion in foreign cash.

“It will be a huge boost to the Cypriot economy,” Shacolas said, predicting also that the extra money would create jobs.

In response to reporters’ questions, the Hermes chairman said Ryan Air has signed up for the €4 per passenger scheme, but added that “other airlines are also expressing interest.”

Latest government data meanwhile showed a rise in traffic in the first four months of the year. Tourist arrivals totalled some 405,463, a 17.6 per cent increase on the same period last year.

For the month of April alone, tourist arrivals reached some 200,000, a 43 per cent increase compared to the same month last year. This included a 29.1 per cent increase in arrivals from the United Kingdom, a 74 per cent increase from Russia and a 30.8 per cent increase from Germany.

Sceptics have suggested the upswing is at least partly attributable to Middle Eastern tourist destinations (particularly Egypt) falling out of favour due to political unrest.

The Association of Cyprus Travel Agents says the island’s winter tourism is hampered by the relatively higher cost of air travel to Cyprus and lack of planning.

Commerce and Tourism Minister Antonis Paschalides said the data bore out his own predictions that tourist arrivals would pick up. He dismissed criticism that Cyprus is losing its appeal as a tourist destination, noting that unforeseen factors – such as the eruption of the Icelandic volcano in March last year – played a part in the poor numbers registered for 2010.

In 2010, tourist arrivals rose by 1.5 per cent to 2.2 million, indicating a slight recovery.

Cyprus’ best year for tourism was 2001 when 2,696,732 tourists visited.

Tourist arrivals hit a 20-year low this January, dropping 3.3 per cent compared to the same month last year.

Meanwhile Cyprus Airways yesterday announced a €198 airfare for trips to London. The offer is valid for the period 18 May to 30 June, and tickets must be purchased up to and including 31 May. It applies to flight CY332 which departs for London at 5am. For passengers travelling from London to Larnaca, Cyprus Airways is offering a special deal of €200. The price includes all taxes and fees