Press Releases

Tourist Arrivals 7,6% and Returns of Residents of Cyprus 9,3% 

Tourist Arrivals

The arrivals of tourists reached 133.063 in December 2024 compared to 123.630 in December 2023, recording an increase of 7,6%. 

For the period of January - December 2024, arrivals of tourists totaled 4.040.200 compared to 3.845.652 in the corresponding period of 2023, recording an increase of 5,1%.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom were the main source of tourism for December 2024 with a share of 23,7% (31.501) of total arrivals, followed by Israel with 17,4% (23.168), Poland with 9,4% (12.473), Greece with 9,0% (11.969) and Germany with 5,7% (7.535).

For a percentage of 49,6% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in December 2024 was holidays, for 37,5% visit to friends and relatives and for 12,7% business. Respectively, in December 2023, 58,4% of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays, 30,4% visited friends or relatives and 11,0% visited Cyprus for business reasons (Table).

Returns of Residents of Cyprus 

A total number of 168.022 residents of Cyprus returned from a trip abroad in December 2024 compared to 153.736 in the corresponding month last year, recording an increase of 9,3%.

The main countries from which residents of Cyprus returned in December 2024 were Greece with a share of 31,2% (52.344), the United Kingdom with 13,7% (22.995), and Poland with 5,3% (8.956).

The purpose of travel for the residents of Cyprus in December 2024 was mainly holidays with a percentage of 65,7%, whilst business reasons held a percentage of 16,3%, studies 17,6% and other reasons 0,4%.

Methodological Information

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 travellers 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 CYSTAT Portal, subtheme Tourism, CYSTAT-DB (Online Database), Predefined Tables (Excel), Methodological Information or contact Ms Lucy Panayidou at 22602152 or via email lpanagidou@cystat.mof.gov.cy. 

(NZ/GS)