Cyprus tourist arrivals surge by 13.4 per cent in August — fueled by Israeli visitors

Tourist arrivals to Cyprus witnessed a significant surge of 60,254 visitors in August 2023, a rise of 13.4 per cent compared to August 2022, primarily attributed to a remarkable increase of nearly 33,000 tourist arrivals from Israel.

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, tourist arrivals reached 511,387 in August 2023, compared to 451,133 in August 2022.

For the period from January to August 2023, tourist arrivals totalled 2,648,795, representing a substantial increase of 24.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.

In total, during 2022, tourist arrivals amounted to 3,201,080, marking the fourth-highest number of tourists historically, following the years 2017, 2018, and 2019.

In August 2023, arrivals from the United Kingdom were the leading source of tourism, constituting 35.9 per cent (183,642) of the total arrivals.

Arrivals from Israel accounted for 14.9 per cent (76,130) of the total arrivals, reflecting an increase of 32,804 compared to the previous August.

Furthermore, arrivals from Poland comprised 5.8 per cent (29,495) of the total, while arrivals from Germany and Sweden constituted 4.5 per cent (23,178) and 3.6 per cent (18,218), respectively.

According to the Statistical Service, 86.0 per cent of tourists visited Cyprus in August 2023 for vacation purposes, 11.9 per cent for visiting friends or relatives, and 2.0 per cent for professional reasons.

Comparatively, in August 2022, 85.5 per cent came for holidays, 12.4 per cent for visiting friends or relatives, and 2.1 per cent for business purposes.

In addition, Cyprus residents’ trips abroad in August 2023 totaled 199,920, compared to 153,563 in August 2022, marking a substantial increase of 30.2 per cent.

The primary countries to which Cyprus residents returned in August 2023 were Greece, accounting for 40.4 per cent (80,713), the United Kingdom with 5.7 per cent (11,329), Italy with 5.3 per cent (10,516), France with 3.7 per cent (7,389), and Russia with 3.2 per cent (6,490).

Finally, in terms of Cyprus residents, vacations were the predominant purpose of travel in August 2023, accounting for 90.4 per cent, while professional reasons constituted 5.9 per cent, studies 2.1 per cent, and other reasons 1.5 per cent.