Not only an attraction for Israel travelers, this captivating Mediterranean gem is attracting Israelis who are contributing to the Island and its tourism industry.
By Motti Verses
Israel does not possess an island, yet it has found one it returns to with remarkable consistency. A close, welcoming getaway for Israelis in the Mediterranean, Cyprus has evolved into something more than a holiday destination for Israelis. It has become a familiar refuge, close enough to feel reassuring, distant enough to feel like an escape.
The connection is evident in the numbers. With multiple daily flights year-round, including during winter months, Israelis travel to Cyprus in extraordinary volumes. Beaches, food, and a sense of ease draw them in, but what sustains the relationship is something less tangible: the feeling of being welcome, understood, and safe.
Few people understand this bond better than Louisa Varaclas, Director of the Israel Office at the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism. Having spent nearly three decades in the role, she has witnessed the transformation firsthand.
“When I began, fewer than 30,000 Israelis visited Cyprus each year,” she recalls. “By 2025, that number had risen to almost 600,000, not including cruise passengers.”
Varaclas identifies the COVID period as a turning point, but not the sole explanation. “Israelis are natural travelers,” she says. “Travel is embedded in the culture. Cyprus offers proximity, affordability, and the reassurance that home is always within easy reach.”
That reassurance, she adds, has taken on greater importance in recent years. “Cyprus has remained consistently friendly. Israeli visitors feel genuinely welcomed here, especially compared to destinations that have become more complicated or less hospitable. Israeli tourists are also significant contributors to the local economy, staying in high-end hotels, shopping, dining, and engaging with entertainment and leisure offerings.”
Winter Light, Mediterranean Calm
Arriving in Limassol at the start of 2026, I encountered a city in its quieter season. Winter strips the coastline of its summer crowds and reveals something more elemental. The sea turns dramatic, the air sharp, the promenade contemplative. Walking along the rocky shoreline, with waves crashing hard against the coast, the city feels grounded and honest. A place allowed to breathe.
Yet Cyprus is not only a destination Israelis visit. Increasingly, it is a place where Israeli professionals shape the hospitality landscape itself.
That realization became clear when Roni Aloni, Managing Director of the Mediterranean Region at Leonardo–Fattal Hotels, was awarded the Award of Excellence by the Cyprus Hotel Managers Association, recognizing his contribution to hospitality development across the region in 2025.
The award prompted a deeper look at the Israeli hotel group whose footprint on the island has become impossible to ignore.
Israeli Hospitality, Mediterranean Scale
Leonardo–Fattal Hotels, a publicly traded Israeli hospitality group, has quietly become the largest international hotel operator in Cyprus, surpassing global brands such as Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, and Wyndham in number of properties.
My base during this exploration was NYX Hotel Limassol, part of Fattal’s lifestyle-oriented NYX brand. Positioned along the promenade near the port, the hotel reflects a distinctly urban sensibility: contemporary design, social energy, curated music and art, and a relaxed cosmopolitan atmosphere. With 189 rooms, generous public spaces, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking either sea or city, it feels tuned to modern travelers rather than traditional resort guests.
Meeting Aloni there felt less like a formal interview and more like a professional exchange between peers shaped by similar decades in the industry.
“Our move into Cyprus began about eight years ago,” he explains. “After establishing ourselves in major European cities, we wanted to enter the resort world, which is operationally and commercially far more complex. Cyprus made sense immediately.”
The group identified underperforming locally owned hotels, particularly in Paphos, and saw opportunity. “We believed these properties could be completely reimagined under our brands. Cyprus was open to foreign investment, close to Israel, and aligned with our long-term vision. Greece followed naturally.”
DESIGNED WITH ISRAELIS IN MIND
Many of the group’s Cypriot properties feel uncannily tailored to Israeli travelers. A point Aloni readily acknowledges.
“In some ways, we’ve expanded Israelis’ holiday choices beyond Eilat,” he says. “The decision is no longer automatic. Do you drive south, or take a short flight to Larnaca or Paphos? Cyprus competes on price, convenience, and experience.”
The hotels are deliberately segmented: adults-only resorts, family-focused properties, and seasonally adaptable concepts. Attention to detail matters: Hebrew signage, kosher solutions, diverse dining, personalized service, and entertainment designed around Israeli expectations. Even elements like escape rooms, spa concepts, and family lounges were developed specifically for the Cypriot context.
The clearest expression of this strategy is Leonardo Laura Beach & Splash Resort in Paphos. With 420 rooms, extensive dining options, constant entertainment, an on-site water park, and a beachfront location, it has become the group’s most sought-after family property on the island.
LOOKING AHEAD
As holiday habits shift toward nearby destinations where travelers feel culturally comfortable, Cyprus continues to strengthen its appeal.
“Nine Fattal hotels are already operating here, with three more opening soon,” Aloni notes. Among them: a 240-suite family resort in Latchi near the Blue Lagoon, featuring a floating water park; a 72-room urban hotel in Nicosia opening next month; and later in the year, NYX Nicosia, a 162-room lifestyle property.
Together, these developments reinforce Cyprus’ evolving role. Not merely as a holiday island, but as a second home of sorts for Israeli travelers and hospitality professionals alike.
Asked about his recent award, Aloni deflects the spotlight. “It’s not about me,” he says. “It recognizes the teams on the ground – leadership, staff, and partners in Cyprus and Greece. Their work is what made this possible.”
Cyprus today is more than a destination Israelis visit. It is a place where Israeli hospitality has taken root, shaping experiences from behind the scenes and making the island feel, in many ways, comfortably familiar.
*Feature picture: Love is in the Air. The writer marveling at the site where legend has it that Aphrodite – the goddess of love and beauty – was born from the Mediterranean waves below. For centuries, people have traveled to Aphrodite’s Rock to sweep their loved one off their feet. (Photo: Motti Verses).
About the writer:
The writer, Motti Verses, is a Travel Flash Tips publisher. His travel stories are published on THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/motti-verses/
And his hospitality analysis reviews on THE JERUSALEM POST, are available on his Linkedin page LinkedIn Israelhttps://il.linkedin.com › motti-verse…Motti Verses – Publisher and Chief Editor – TRAVEL FLASH TIPSAnd his hospitality analysis reviews on THE JERUSALEM POST, are available on his Linkedin page LinkedIn Israelhttps://il.linkedin.com › motti-verse…Motti Verses – Publisher and Chief Editor – TRAVEL FLASH TIPS.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
