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On the basis of the results of the Passengers Survey, arrivals of tourists reached 106.563 in December 2018 compared to 98.924 in December 2017, recording an increase of 7,7%. December 2018 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month.

For the period of January – December 2018 arrivals of tourists totaled 3.938.625 compared to 3.652.073 in the corresponding period of 2017, recording an increase of 7,8% and outnumbering the total arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during a year (Table 1).

Analysis of changes

Tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom increased by 13,6% in December 2018 compared to December 2017 while an increase of 13,5% was also recorded for tourists from Greece. Contrary to that, a decrease of 18,8% in tourist arrivals from Russia and 7,2% from Israel were 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 constitutes the main source of tourism for Cyprus for December 2018, with a proportion of 30,1% while arrivals from Greece comprise 14,8% of total arrivals, from Russia 9,4%  and from Israel 8,7% (Table 2).

Purpose of visit

For a percentage of 51,1% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in December 2018 was holidays, for 36,9% visit to friends and relatives and for 11,9% business (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 data sent by the Analysis and Statistics Office of the Cyprus Police.

For more information:

Statistical Service (CYSTAT) Website, subtheme Tourism

Contact

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

(ML)