Cyprus Business Now: banks, tourism, unemployment, Ermes, DP World Limassol
The bank received the awards for “Cyprus’s Best International Private Bank” and “Cyprus’s Best for Digital Solutions”, highlighting the quality and innovation of its services.
Eurobank said the recognition confirms its ability to deliver high-level private banking services and reflects its continued focus on excellence in wealth management.
“These awards confirm the excellence of the services we offer in private banking and technological innovation,” said the bank.
Specifically, the figures showed that Cyprus unemployment rate stood at 4.20 per cent in February 2026, down from 4.50 per cent in February 2025, reflecting continued improvement in the country’s labour market.
In absolute terms, the number of unemployed in Cyprus fell to approximately 22,000 people in February 2026 from approximately 23,000 a year earlier.
According to an announcement released on Thursday from the port operator, the docking of the vessel “reaffirmed the island’s key position in the regional maritime tourism industry“.
The voyage also marked the second consecutive full ‘Fly and Cruise’ package to Cyprus, further strengthening the island’s appeal as an integrated travel destination.
Marella Discovery II will use DP World Limassol’s cruise terminal as its home port throughout the 2026 season, signalling continued confidence in the port’s infrastructure.
The two associations said the proposal, discussed earlier this week by the House tourism committee, would do little to improve or upgrade the tourism product and instead risked undermining it.
In a joint statement, Stek and Pasyxe said the bill introduced what they described as an unnecessary and fragmented licensing framework, including a requirement for an additional operating licence for restaurants within hotel units, even though these are already covered by the existing institutional framework.
According to the announcement, Cyprus Trading Corporation bought the shares, representing 10.029 per cent of Ermes’ issued share capital, from Department Stores Realisations Limited for a total of €127,758.43, at €0.0073 per share.
Before the transaction, the company directly held 117,240,047 shares in Ermes, or 67.186 per cent, while its total holding together with persons acting in concert stood at 67.774 per cent.
Following the acquisition, the threshold requiring the submission of a mandatory public offer was triggered under Article 13 of the relevant law.
The Deputy Ministry of Shipping said it had contributed actively to discussions on maritime education and the development of human resources in the European shipping industry, while stressing that investment in people remains essential to the sector’s resilience and competitiveness.
It added that the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU has, from the outset, placed seafarers at the heart of maritime competitiveness, promoting initiatives such as the Nicosia Declaration to upgrade skills, strengthen inclusion and create development prospects in support of the green and digital transition.
Christodoulou took part in ‘The power of accountability and action centred leadership’, a session under the conference’s Leadership and Development stream, which focused on how leaders in the energy sector can drive growth through accountability, clarity and empowered teams.
In her intervention, Christodoulou said modern leadership in energy requires accountability, clear vision and action, arguing that these qualities strengthen innovation, resilience and cooperation within organisations.
At the same time, she said women must have an equal place in decision-making, especially in a sector that is evolving quickly and is being asked to produce solutions that are both sustainable and inclusive.
The event will take place on April 7, 2026, between 14:00 and 16:00, offering participants a focused introduction to careers in the maritime sector.
Organisers said the initiative is designed to provide students with insight into the maritime profession and training pathways, particularly through the university’s specialised academic programmes.
The event will be held at the BSM Maritime Training Centre, located at Limassol Marina, a key hub for maritime training and professional development in Cyprus.
In a statement, the department said the campaign will focus on the main causes of work accidents and occupational diseases recorded in those sectors.
These include risks linked to the use of sharp objects, falls on the same level and from a height, contact with hot surfaces, overturning shelves or falling objects, contact with biological agents, the storage and use of chemical substances, manual handling of loads, and the movement of motorcycles on the road network.
“The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness among all those involved in these sectors, in order to minimise occupational accidents, occupational diseases and dangerous incidents,” the department said.
The bank said the overhaul represents a strategic shift in retail banking, designed to better align services with customer needs while enhancing its commercial approach.
As part of the changes, Alpha Bank said that it is strengthening the role of its retail strategies general division, with the aim of developing innovative commercial offerings and improving support for its branch network.
The lender explained that the upgraded model will enhance the role of its physical network while reinforcing regional structures, bringing banking services closer to local communities and creating new growth opportunities across Greece.
According to the figures, Cyprus registered 3,104,502 nights booked via online platforms such as Airbnb, Booking, and Expedia between July and September 2025, with the country counted as a single region due to its size.
The figures come as part of a wider Eurostat release covering both national and regional trends in short-stay accommodation across the European Union.
Across the EU, guests spent a total of 172.30 million nights in short-term rentals during the fourth quarter of 2025, reflecting continued growth in the sector.
The initiative introduces an EU digital recruitment platform aimed at facilitating international hiring in sectors where member states are facing persistent labour shortages.
The platform will match job vacancies with the profiles of non-EU jobseekers residing outside the European Union, creating a more efficient pathway for cross-border employment.
Cyprus Deputy Minister for Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides said the initiative is expected to strengthen the European labour market and enhance competitiveness.
In an article first published in Eurofi magazine, Theocharides described MiCA as a structural shift for the EU crypto-asset market, explaining that a sector once operating largely outside a harmonised regulatory framework is now subject to common rules, authorisation requirements and supervisory oversight across the European Union.
“The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation represents a structural shift for the EU crypto-asset market,” he said.
He added that the transition is already delivering tangible benefits, particularly through improved legal certainty and clearer regulatory expectations for both firms and users operating within the bloc.
Specifically, the Turnover Value Index of Retail Trade, which excludes motor vehicles, rose by 3.3 per cent in February 2026 compared with the same month in the previous year.
At the same time, the Turnover Volume Index of Retail Trade increased by 4.1 per cent year-on-year, indicating higher sales in real terms.
The figures show that both value and volume indicators of retail activity moved upward during the reference month.
Cystat explained that the Turnover Index of Retail Trade is designed to monitor short-term developments in the retail sector, offering insight into market trends.
Specifically, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.21 points in March 2026, reaching 101.07 units compared with 99.86 units in February 2026.
Cystat stated that annual inflation stood at 1.2 per cent in March 2026, reflecting moderate price growth across the economy.
At the same time, data released earlier this week by Eurostat showed that annual inflation in Cyprus was estimated at 1.5 per cent, indicating a slightly higher rate under the harmonised European methodology.