Press Releases

Tourist Arrivals +6,5% and Returns of Residents of Cyprus +14,7% 

Tourist Arrivals

The arrivals of tourists reached 159.605 in November 2023 compared to 149.857 in November 2022, recording an increase of 6,5%.

For the period of January – November 2023, arrivals of tourists totaled 3.722.022 compared to 3.091.039 in the corresponding period of 2022, recording an increase of 20,4%.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom were the main source of tourism for November 2023, with a share of 26,8% (42.724) of total arrivals, followed by Poland with 11,8% (18.874), Germany with 10,0% (15.984) and Greece with 9,7% (15.475).

For a percentage of 67,2% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in November 2023 was holidays, for 19,7% visit to friends and relatives and for 12,8% business. Respectively, in November 2022, 70,8% of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays, 15,0% visited friends and relatives and 14,0% visited Cyprus for business reasons (Table).

Returns of Residents of Cyprus

A total number of 117.487 residents of Cyprus returned from a trip abroad in November 2023 compared to 102.417 in the corresponding month last year, recording an increase of 14,7%.

The main countries from which residents of Cyprus returned in November 2023 were Greece with a share of 33,9% (39.868), the United Kingdom with 13,5% (15.834) and Italy with 5,0% (5.914).

The purpose of travel for the residents of Cyprus in November 2023 was mainly holidays, with a percentage of 68,1%, whilst business reasons held a percentage of 27,7%, studies 2,3% and other reasons 1,8%.

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 are obtained from the Passengers Survey which is carried out at the points of arrival in Larnaka and Pafos airports. Additionally, data are 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 theCYSTAT Portal, subtheme Tourism, CYSTAT-DB (Online Database), Predefined Tables (Excel), Methodological Information or contactLucy Panayidou at +35722602152 or lpanagidou@cystat.mof.gov.cy

(IA/AP)