Press Releases

Tourist Arrivals

The arrivals of tourists reached 523.718 in July 2023 compared to 454.657 in July 2022, recording an increase of 15,2%.

For the period of January – July 2023, arrivals of tourists totaled 2.137.408 compared to 1.676.039 in the corresponding period of 2022, recording an increase of 27,5%.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom were the main source of tourism for July 2023, with a share of 33,6% (175.924) of total arrivals, followed by Israel with 12,4% (64.711), Poland with 5,5% (28.957), Sweden with 4,4% (22.994), Germany with 3,6% (19.030) and Greece with 3,1% (16.092).

For a percentage of 85,4% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in July 2023 was holidays, for 11,3% visit to friends and relatives and for 3,3% business. Respectively, in July 2022, 84,9% of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays, 12,2% visited friends or relatives and 2,8% visited Cyprus for business reasons (Table).

Returns of Residents of Cyprus

A total number of 184.335 residents of Cyprus returned from a trip abroad in July 2023 compared to 134.198 in the corresponding month last year, recording an increase of 37,4%.

The main countries from which residents of Cyprus returned in July 2023 were Greece with a share of 38,8% (71.445), the United Kingdom with 10,9% (20.011), Italy with 6,4% (11.870) and France with 4,3% (7.869).

The purpose of travel for the residents of Cyprus in July 2023 was mainly holidays, with a percentage of 71,1%, whilst business reasons held a percentage of 13,6%, studies 13,7% and other reasons 1,6%.

Methodological Notes

Definitions

Tourists – Visitors who stay for at least one night in Cyprus.

Tourist arrivals – The term refers to the number of trips and not to the number of persons. This differs in the sense that one person can take more than one trips during the reference period.

Residents of Cyprus - This category includes persons who have resided in Cyprus for at least 12 months or who have come to Cyprus with the intention of staying for at least 12 months, prior to their travel.

Source of Data and Coverage

The data is obtained from the Passengers Survey, which is carried out at the points of arrival in Larnaka and Pafos airports. Additionally, data is also collected from administrative sources, such as the monthly arrivals from ports.

The data covers all persons who pass through passport control at the ports and airports in the Government controlled area of Cyprus. It does not include travelers, who arrive and depart illegally via ports and airports in the occupied part of Cyprus.

The weighting was conducted based on the data sent to the Statistical Service by the Civil Aviation Department and from the ship manifests, as well as on the data sent by the Analysis and Statistics Office of the Cyprus Police.

For more information visit the CYSTAT Portal, subtheme Tourism, CYSTAT-DB (Online Database), Predefined Tables (Excel), Methodological Information or contact Ms Lucy Panayidou: tel.:+35722602152, email: lpanagidou@cystat.mof.gov.cy.

(NG/ECHR)