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Tourism Recovery And Expansion: Larnaca Poised For New Growth

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

January 6, 2026

Strong Momentum Ahead Under Cyprus EU Presidency

Larnaca celebrated its most successful tourism season in recent years and is gearing up to build on that success in the coming year. With the added advantage of Cyprus holding the EU Council Presidency during the first half of the year, industry leaders are confident that the city’s tourism performance will soar even higher.

Robust International Inflows and Market Shifts

Marios Polyviou, Chairman of PASYXE Larnaca, highlighted notable increases in visitor arrivals from Israel, Poland, and Germany, while growth from the United Kingdom remained more modest. “Early indicators for this year are positive, with progressive booking trends that suggest 2026 will also mark another successful tourism season,” Polyviou noted. His remarks underscore strong optimism within the local industry, laying the groundwork for a continued upward trajectory in visitor numbers.

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Impressive December Performance and Strategic Outreach

Following the trend of recent years, December saw hotel occupancy rates climb to approximately 70%, a significant performance boost over 2024. The sustained uptick in demand was evident in the days leading up to the New Year, with both international and local tourists—particularly Cypriot visitors drawn by attractive hotel offers—bolstering occupancy figures. Leading markets include not only Germany and Israel but also the Scandinavian countries and the United Kingdom.

International Promotions and Forthcoming Exhibitions

Local tourism authorities are currently focused on the international stage, preparing for participation in major tourism exhibitions. PASYXE and ETAP Larnaca will showcase Larnaca’s offerings at the upcoming Berlin exhibition, one of the largest alongside London’s event. This campaign will be further amplified through targeted social media outreach, reinforcing the city’s reputation as a top tourism destination.

Ambitious Hotel Developments Fueling Future Growth

Looking ahead to 2026, two significant hotel projects are set to transform Larnaca’s hospitality landscape. One is a boutique hotel in the heart of the city’s Agios Lazarou district, and the other is the luxurious Palm Beach development, valued at €100 million and scheduled for completion by October 2026. This mixed-use project will encompass a five-star hotel with 164 rooms, upscale ground-floor residences, a tower of apartments, diverse dining and entertainment facilities, a wellness center, modern conference spaces, and underground parking. The portfolio also includes the Waterfront Residence—a four-story building with 20 apartments—as well as the Seabreeze Tower, a ten-floor residential building behind the hotel, and The Beach House Residences featuring luxury villas.

Expanding Hospitality Offerings

According to data from the Larnaca Regional Administration Authority processed by ETAP Larnaca, an additional 27 tourism units, predominantly through the conversion of existing buildings, are expected in the coming years. When combined with the two new hotel projects, these developments will contribute nearly 900 additional beds to the region’s portfolio, reinforcing Larnaca’s position as a burgeoning tourism hotspot.

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Google Cloud Outage Disrupts Banking And Digital Services Across The UK

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 20, 2026

A power outage at a Google Cloud data centre near London disrupted services across the UK on Tuesday, affecting banks, businesses and other digital platforms. Google said the incident was caused by a power event at its cloud operations, with full recovery expected by around 1300 GMT.

The disruption began at 0608 GMT and affected Google Cloud services in the europe-west2 region, which is hosted in London. In an initial update, the company reported elevated error rates and intermittent network failures across multiple services as engineers worked to restore operations.

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Banking Services Hit By The Disruption

Revolut was among the most visibly affected companies, with customers reporting problems with ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and card top-ups. A source close to the matter linked the issues to the Google Cloud outage.

Traditional banks also reported disruptions. Lloyds said some customers were experiencing problems with its app and online banking, while HSBC confirmed difficulties accessing its services. HSBC added that it was monitoring the situation and noted that other organisations were affected as well.

Disruption Spreads Beyond Finance

Downdetector, which tracks online service disruptions, recorded hundreds of reports involving other businesses, including property website Rightmove and the Royal Mail postal service. The reports suggested that the outage was affecting multiple parts of the UK’s digital economy.

The incident highlights the risks facing businesses that depend on shared cloud infrastructure. Even a temporary failure at a single provider can disrupt services across several sectors, from banking and payments to logistics and consumer platforms.

Companies Reassure Customers

Revolut said it had been working to resolve the issue since it was identified and apologised to affected customers. The company also confirmed that customers’ money and data remained safe.

As cloud platforms underpin an increasing share of digital commerce, the outage illustrates how disruptions to critical infrastructure can spread far beyond the provider itself, affecting businesses and customers across the economy.