Cyprus tourist arrivals surge in 2023 — UK still the biggest market

Tourist arrivals in Cyprus during the first ten months of 2023 soared by 21.1 per cent compared to last year, according to a report released on Friday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

In October 2023 alone, tourist arrivals amounted to 426,272 visitors, showcasing a 6.4 per cent increase from 400,628 in October 2022.

For the period of January to October 2023, tourist arrivals totalled 3,562,417, compared to 2,941,182 in the same period of 2022, marking a substantial 21.1 per cent surge.

The report highlighted that arrivals from the United Kingdom constituted the primary source of tourism in October 2023, accounting for 36.2 per cent (154,373) of the total arrivals.

Arrivals from Germany accounted for 7.1 per cent (30,178), and arrivals from Poland amounted to 6.7 per cent (28,649).

In October 2023, 82.5 per cent of visitors were on vacation, 10.9 per cent visited friends or relatives, and 6.4 per cent travelled for business purposes.

Comparatively, in October 2022, 83.1 per cent visited Cyprus for holidays, 11.5 per cent for visiting friends or relatives, and 5.3 per cent for business reasons.

At the same time, trips by Cypriot residents abroad reached 131,327 in October 2023, compared to 119,466 in October 2022, marking a 9.9 per cent increase.

The primary countries residents returned from in October 2023 were Greece at 34.1 per cent (44,795), the United Kingdom at 8.2 per cent (10,751), and Italy at 6.2 per cent (8,176).

For Cypriot residents in October 2023, vacations accounted for 65.1 per cent of their journeys abroad, while business purposes accounted for 30 per cent, followed by studies at 2.2 per cent, and other reasons at 2.8 per cent.