NICOSIA, April 11( Xinhua)--Cyprus expects an increase in tourist arrivals this year, but the figure is likely to still stay below that registered in 2019, a senior official said here on Monday." We believe that 2022 would be a better year for tourism despite the loss of visitors from Russia and Ukraine," Savvas Perdios, deputy minister of tourism, told a meeting of hotels managers.In pre-COVID year 2019, Cyprus hosted a record 6 million tourists, who contributed about 2.68 billion euros( 2.9 bi

“ It is one of the bad sides of the war in the region falling into our country.” Cyprus is about 120 miles away from Syria.... Turkey invaded the country after a coup by a group that supported a union with Greece. The country’s internationally recognised government is seated in the Greek Cypriot south. Only Turkey recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and keeps more than 35, 000 troops in the north.... Additional reporting by Associated Press and Reuters？...