Cypriot President Demetris Christofias opened the new Larnaca terminal, built by a consortium of French and Cypriot companies, at a ceremony attended by French European Affairs Minister Pierre Lellouche. He said that this will boost flagging tourism and boost prospects of it becoming a regional transport hub.

Larnaca airport now has double the capacity to handle passenger traffic with The 100,000 square metre high-tech terminal which is four times larger than its predecessor, just a couple of kilometres away on the island’s south coast. The construction took three years at a cost 656 million euros in what is one the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Cyprus. Flight operations from the new airport began, with Cyprus Airways and easyjet flights only and become fully operational from November 17. Officials hope the new airport will also attract foreign investment to Cyprus.

In a bid to attract more tourists and promote Cyprus as a regional service centre, an upgraded airport in Paphos, on the west coast opened last year at a cost of 127 million euros and is able to manage 2.7 million passengers a year.

Overseas property professional has reported that Med Group, a consortium of Cypriot developers is expecting to receive the go ahead for a €300 million golf resort project at Tersefanou within the next few months and is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Aside from golfing facilities, The golf development will include a five star hotel, luxurious club house with a number of restaurants, bars, a library, children’s play area bars, a library and banquet hall. The resort itself is planned to have health spa Spa, fitness center, equestrian center, football academy, swimming pool, tennis courts and much more. The Med Group has signed an exclusive contract with the Professional Golfers Association (PGA), which will manage the golfing facilities and develop a PGA academy on the site.

The golf development is a substantial boost to Larnaca’s infrastructure as the other three courses in Cyprus are located in the Paphos and Limassol areas. Several new developments have sprung up around Larnaca and the area of the golf course once the news about Tersefanou golf course has been released. This has also had an effect on other villages in the locality, such as Pavolia, Kiti, Mazatos, which are all seeing an increase in temporary lodgings to accommodate the expected influx of golfers and holidaymakers to Cyprus. Property prices in the region are expected to increase and are projected to undergo similar rises to those in the Paphos region.

Cyprus has become one of the most popular holiday destinations bringing in over £1.7 billion in revenue every year to the country. Financial Mirror cited government’s official data that more than 307,000 foreign leisure travelers visited the Mediterranean island during June 2008 which is 8.8 per cent higher than the amount recorded same time last year.

Marios Christodoulou, spokesperson of Lovecyprus has stated that Cyprus is getting more and more popular as it is undergoing increasing development for special interest tourism. The initiatives by the government of Cyprus has modernized and broadened its appeal to encompass various demographics. Government has invested in infrastructure up gradation, new transport links and leisure facilities, along with the construction of two new international airports.

Commenting on the development, Akis Kelepeshis, president of the Association of Cyprus Travel Agents has said that a lot of time and money are invested and Cyprus is beginning to see increasing tourist numbers. Cyprus’ popularity as a holiday destination is directly boosting its property market. The findings indicate the growing demand for holiday accommodation and this could potentially lead to house prices going up in the most popular locations.

European Union report said the reasons for this price increase are Cyprus is a cut off, island country with no direct physical energy links to other EU Member States, a comparatively small electricity market and gas market. Another reason stated is the fast increase is Cyprus’ huge dependence on oil for electricity generation. The tax portion of these prices was 14.4% in Cyprus which is comparatively lesser in Cyprus when compared to EU states where Denmark and Netherlands has 50% and 40% respectively.

Rental properties in Cyprus are seeing greater demand as a result of a year-on-year increase in tourist numbers. This includes tourists from various European countries, as holidaymakers came from places such as Germany, Greece and the UK. Britons are said to account for almost half of the foreign arrivals in Cyprus. The price increase in electricity makes it clear for shrewd investors as they start thinking about the energy utilization of their Cypriot property, as increasing fuel costs may cut down their rental profits or increase maintenance costs.

Owners of rental accommodation in Cyprus are checking out for alternative sources of energy like solar panels as Cyprus’s has year round sunshine and exploiting wind power or geodesic power if your property is on a cliff or has running water nearby.

He was quoted by the Financial Mirror the improvements will have a series of knock-on effects, as it will boost the desirability of the region to overseas property buyers. The government also has pledged to support infrastructure improvements in a bid to attract more foreign investment.

Overseas investors are advised to have a close look at the untapped regions left as big infrastructure projects are opening up the access to these areas through new airports, or good new railroad links. Property experts believe that the key to successful investing in Cyprus in the future will be all about local knowledge.

Les Calvert, director of overseas property firm Property Abroad has said the 360 days of sunshine and easy accessibility with direct flights from low-cost airlines such as Monarch has already made Cyprus property popular with overseas buyers. The hot summers and mild winters in Cyprus is a big draw for vacationers from Europe.

This comes after the Sunday Mail recommended Cyprus as one of the “hottest spots” to overseas property investment.

According to official figures, the number of people passing through international airports in Cyprus has increased this year. The passenger numbers in 2007 increased 4 per cent more than the figure recorded in 2006. This is set to increase this year and the final number for 2008 will be a record amount. These indicate the growing popularity of Cyprus as a tourist destination, a trend which could enhance its standing among overseas property investors as well.

Statistics showed that passenger traffic at Larnaca rose by 5.27 per cent in 2007, while a 0.54 per cent increase was recorded at Paphos. Recently Times has reported that Cyprus government is aiming to attract affluent property purchasers by investing in infrastructure improvements, new transport links and leisure facilities. Up gradation work in carried on Larnaca and Paphos airports totaling 650 million euros (about £443 million). Hermes Airports chief executive, Bob Manning, told Cyprus’ Financial Mirror that the aim is to make Larnaca into a world-class airport.

Mr Manning told that the Phase 1 of Larnaca’s new three-level 98,000 sq m passenger terminal will have a 7.5 million passenger’s capacity a year.

Phase 2 plans to increase to 9 million and the runway from 2,700 m to 3,500 m by 2013.

Paphos airport upgradation will be completed by the end of 2008 and Larnaca by the end of 2009.

This increased accessibility should considerably lift the investment potential of the island, as demand for property is likely to grow. The Times has reported that Property prices have been rising steadily.