Press Releases

Residents of Cyprus participating in domestic and outbound trips 

During 2023, 484.365 residents of Cyprus participated in at least one domestic or/and outbound trip that included a minimum of one overnight stay for personal purposes, recording an increase of 8,4% compared to 2022, during which a total of 446.633 persons have travelled domestically or abroad. 

Residents participating only in domestic trips decreased by 6,6% in 2023, reaching 150.751 compared to 161.489 in 2022. 

The number of residents participating only in outbound trips amounted to 175.825, showing an increase of 11,1% compared to 158.294 residents who travelled abroad in 2022. 

Additionally, 157.789 persons participated in both domestic and outbound trips in 2023, recording an increase of 24,4% compared to 2022.

Trips of Residents 

The number of domestic trips decreased by 7,4%, from 1.689.154 trips recorded in 2022 to 1.564.359 in 2023. A percentage of 98,1% of domestic trips were taken for personal purposes (i.e. leisure, recreation and holidays, visiting relatives and friends, health reasons, pilgrimage, etc.) and 1,9% for professional purposes. Rented accommodation, such as hotels and similar establishments, campsites, hostels, etc., constituted the main type of stay for 54,2% of the trips, while non-rented accommodation (i.e. own home, staying with relatives or friends, etc.) accounted for 45,8%. 

The number of trips abroad in 2023 reached 1.674.725 compared to 1.234.615 in 2022, recording an increase of 35,6%. A percentage of 85,7% of these trips were conducted for personal purposes, while 14,3% for professional purposes. A percentage of 70,0% of outbound trips had rented accommodation as their main type of stay, while 30,0% had non-rented accommodation as their main type of stay. 

Expenditure for Trips 

Expenditure for domestic trips reached €292,9 mn in 2023, recording an increase of 9,9% compared to 2022. Expenditure on food and drinks in cafes and restaurants comprised the largest share of total expenditure for domestic trips (40,1%), while accommodation spending accounted for 35,4%. Transportation costs accounted for 10,1% of total expenditure, and expenditure on other goods or services for 14,4%. 

Expenditure for outbound trips amounted to €1.940,2 mn in 2023, recording an increase of 39,1% compared to 2022. Expenditure on transport comprised the largest share of total expenditure, with a percentage of 35,7%, while smaller percentages corresponded to expenditure on accommodation (24,0%), food and drinks in cafes and restaurants (23,1%) and other goods or services (17,2%).

Methodological information

Definitions

Residents: 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.

Trips: The term refers to the number of trips conducted by residents of Cyprus and not to the number of persons. This differs in the sense that one person can take more than one trip during the reference period.

Expenditure: Expenditure for a specific trip refers to individual expenses and may include expenditure for transport, accommodation, food and drinks in restaurants and cafes, purchases from supermarkets and kiosks, souvenirs, tickets for theatres, museums, sports activities, etc.

Source of Data and Coverage

The data is derived from the annual Survey on the Trips of Residents, covering all residents of Cyprus aged 15 and over. The sample selection is carried out using stratified random sampling with the five districts and urban/rural areas as strata. A random sample of households is then selected within each stratum.

Data collection is conducted through telephone interviews using electronic questionnaires.

The survey is conducted in accordance with Regulation (EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European tourism statistics.

For more information, visit the CYSTAT Portal, subtheme Tourism, CYSTAT-DB (Online Database), Methodological Information or contact Stavri Christou at 25270621 or via email: schristou@cystat.mof.gov.cy.

(IA/GS)