The Cyprus Executive Review: 2025 is a new interview series inviting top business and technology leaders to reflect on the defining moments of the year, the difficult decisions that determined the directions of their organisation, and what they are taking into 2026.
In this interview, we speak with Akis Kelepeshis, Executive Chairman of Top Kinisis Travel, one of Cyprus’ best-known names in travel, operating across leisure travel, corporate travel, and conferences and events.
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Kelepeshis’ view of 2025 is founded on execution. Corporate clients, he says, are asking for “deeper visibility” across the full travel experience, including total cost, traveller well-being, and sustainability. At the same time, the industry still has plenty of room to evolve to the digital age. He describes Top Kinisis’ turning point as a commitment to reposition the company as a “technology-enabled travel partner,” starting with a new online platform and the data infrastructure behind it.
What follows is a candid look at where he believes the travel sector is heading, what it takes to build for the next decade without chasing short-term fixes, and what he is bringing forward into the new year.
1. What was the turning point moment of 2025 for you and/or your organisation?
The turning point in 2025 was committing to reposition Top Kinisis Travel Plc as a technology-enabled travel partner rather than a traditional agency, starting with the design of our new online platform and data infrastructure. Top Kinisis has always believed in embracing technology. In 1999, we partnered with global technology provider Amadeus under a new entity in Cyprus, making it the leading GDS in the market. We were also the first company locally to introduce online flight and hotel reservations through our own in-house development team. Now we are extending that innovation mindset into a platform that covers all travel services for B2B and B2C, including corporate travel.
2. What were your two biggest wins in 2025
Our first big win was consolidating Top Kinisis’s position as the largest tour operator in Cyprus and the country’s leading conference and events organiser, with strong performance in incentives, congresses, and large-scale corporate events. The second was reinforcing our role as the leader in corporate travel, by enhancing our 24/7 support model and winning new corporate accounts that value local expertise combined with personalised, high-touch service.
3. What was the hardest decision you made in 2025?
The hardest decision was to slow down short-term feature requests and instead negotiate a strategic, partnership-based development model for our new travel platform, including IP ownership, fair licensing for developers, and revenue-sharing structures. For a company that already leads the market in tour operating, conferences, events, and corporate travel, choosing to invest in a long-term, scalable platform rather than quick fixes required discipline and the confidence to build for the next decade of growth.
3. What single metric best captures your 2025 performance (and why that one)?
If one metric captures 2025, it is “corporate customers supported with 24/7 service,” because it reflects both the scale and leadership position of Top Kinisis in the corporate travel market. Behind that number stands a broader picture of leadership: repeat business from Cyprus-based companies, more complex global itineraries, and strong cross-sell from our tour operating and conference divisions into corporate accounts.
4. What changed most in your industry in 2025, and what didn’t change (but should have)?
In 2025, Cyprus-based companies began treating travel as a strategic lever, asking their partners, especially market leaders like Top Kinisis, for deeper visibility into total cost, traveler well-being, and sustainability rather than focusing only on the lowest fare. What did not change enough was the pace at which many industry players modernise their systems and processes. As the largest tour operator, top conference and events organizer, and corporate travel leader, we still see a significant need for digital and service-quality improvement across the wider market.
5. How did AI or automation change your execution in 2025?
AI and automation in 2025 began to support our teams in handling disruptions faster, standardising proposals, and structuring prospect and client data so that our pricing and service models reflect the scale and sophistication expected from the market leader in Cyprus. We also used AI-assisted content and outreach to showcase Top Kinisis’s strengths in tour operating, conferences, events, and corporate travel on channels like LinkedIn, reinforcing our leadership storytelling to decision-makers.
6. Give us your two predictions for 2026, one for your industry and one for the wider business/tech ecosystem.
For our industry, 2026 will reward those who can combine market leadership in areas like tour operating, conferences, and corporate travel with integrated digital experiences. Clients will expect their main travel partner to offer both the broadest product and the simplest end-to-end journey.
For the broader business and tech ecosystem, 2026 will be the year when mid-sized companies demand enterprise-like travel solutions—mobile-first, AI-assisted, transparent on fees—while still valuing the kind of local, relationship-driven support that leaders such as Top Kinisis are uniquely positioned to provide.
7. What’s your word for 2025, and what word are you taking with you into 2026?
The word that defines 2025 for us is “foundation,” because even as the largest tour operator, leading conference and events organiser, and corporate travel leader in Cyprus, this year was about building the digital and organisational base for our next chapter.
The word we are taking into 2026 is “acceleration,” reflecting our intention to scale this foundation into a fully launched platform, deeper corporate partnerships, and even stronger leadership across every segment we serve.
