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18-02-2019 13:17

Tourist arrivals: January 2019

Tourist Arrivals +8,0%

On the basis of the results of the Passengers Survey, arrivals of tourists reached 81.970 in January 2019 compared to 75.867 in January 2018, recording an increase of 8,0%. January 2019 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 17,6% in January 2019 compared to January 2018 while an increase of 5,4% was also recorded for tourists from Israel. Contrary to that, a decrease of 2,0% in tourist arrivals from Greece and 27,3% from Russia 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 January 2019, with a proportion of 28,6% while arrivals from Greece comprise 13,7% of total arrivals, from Israel 10,6% and from Russia 9,6% (Table 2).

Purpose of visit

For a percentage of 53,5% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in January 2019 was holidays, for 25,2% visit to friends and relatives and for 21,2% business (Table 3).

Table1
Country of usual residence	January
	Tourist arrivals			% change 2019/18
	2017	2018	2019	% change 2019/18
TOTAL	62.611	75.867	81.970	8,0
Austria	341	338	503	48,8
Belgium	527	482	378	-21,6
France	1.027	1.187	746	-37,2
Germany	2.206	2.431	3.291	35,4
Denmark	228	280	385	37,5
Switzerland (incl. Lichten.)	277	555	725	30,6
Greece	8.460	11.436	11.204	-2,0
United Kingdom	17.404	19.945	23.447	17,6
Israel	5.241	8.240	8.684	5,4
Lebanon	1.075	1.739	1.478	-15,0
Norway	265	351	873	148,7
Netherlands	299	383	518	35,2
Ukraine	1.130	1.687	2.079	23,2
Poland	1.062	1.882	2.119	12,6
Russia	13.677	10.832	7.876	-27,3
Sweden	378	392	881	124,7
Finland	72	64	191	198,4
Other	8.942	13.643	16.592	21,6

Table 2
Country of usual residence of tourists	Percentage (%)
Country of usual residence of tourists	Jan.18	Jan.19
United Kingdom	26,3	28,6
Greece	15,1	13,7
Israel	10,9	10,6
Russia	14,3	9,6
Germany	3,2	4,0
Poland	2,5	2,6
Ukraine	2,2	2,5
Other countries	25,6	28,4

Table 3
Purpose of visit		Percentage (%)
		Jan 17	Jan 18	Jan 19
Holidays	53,0		55,2	53,5
Visiting friends & relatives	24,3		24,3	25,2
Business	22,5		20,4	21,2

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

(AH/SCH)

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