Press Releases

On the basis of the results of the Passengers Survey, arrivals of tourists reached 75.867 in January 2018 compared to 62.611 in January 2017, recording an increase of 21.2%. January 2018 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month.

Analysis of changes

Tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom increased by 14.6% in January 2018 compared to January 2017 while an increase of 35.2% was recorded for tourists from Greece. Increases were also recorded from other important tourist markets, such as Israel (57.2%), Germany (10.2%) and Poland (77.2%). Contrary to that, a decrease of 20,8% in tourist arrivals from Russia was recorded. Percentage changes from one year to the next for the main countries of usual residence of tourists are presented in Table 1.

Main countries

 The United Kingdom and Greece constitute the main sources of tourism for Cyprus for January 2018, with proportions of 26,3% and 15.1% respectively, while arrivals from Russia comprise 14.3% and from Israel 10.9% of total arrivals (Table 2).

 Characteristics of tourists

For a percentage of 55,2% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in  January 2018 was holidays, for 24.3% visit to friends and relatives and for 20.4% business (Table 3).

 Men comprise 45,9% of tourists and women 54.1%,  whilst most of the tourists belonged to the age group of 20-44 years (Table 3). 

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.

 Source of data and coverage

The data are obtained from the Passengers Survey which is conducted in the arrivals and departures halls in the airports of Larnaka and Pafos, as well as from administrative sources such as the monthly arrivals at ports.

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

 For more information:

 Lucy Panayidou: Tel.:+35722602152, E-mail: lpanagidou@cystat.mof.gov.cy 

-------------------------------

ML/II