Cyprus residents spent €1.39 billion on travel in 2022

Cyprus residents’ spending on travel abroad reached €1.39 billion in 2022, marking a significant bounce-back year for travel compared to 2021, when pandemic restrictions were still heavily impacting global mobility.

According to data released on Tuesday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), a total of 158,294 residents embarked on international trips for personal reasons in 2022.

This figure represents an impressive increase of 110.5 per cent compared to the 75,204 residents who travelled abroad in the previous year.

Furthermore, the total number of trips abroad in 2022—which refers to the trips made by Cyprus residents, rather than the number of individuals—soared to 1,234,615. This is a substantial rise of 162.1 per cent from the 471,119 trips recorded in 2021.

Interestingly, a vast majority of these trips, or 86.4 per cent, were conducted for personal reasons such as rest and recreation, visiting relatives or friends, health reasons, and religious purposes. The remaining 13.6 per cent were for business purposes.

In contrast, the number of trips within Cyprus saw a downturn, decreasing by 9.7 per cent from 1,870,923 trips recorded in 2021 to 1,689,154 in 2022.

When examining the purposes of these domestic trips, it’s notable that travel for personal reasons dominated, accounting for 98.5 per cent of the trips, while business-related travel made up just 1.5 per cent.

Delving deeper into the financial aspects, Cystat noted that spending on international travel grew rapidly to €1.39bn in 2022, marking an increase of 185.2 per cent compared to the previous year.

Of this, the largest share of expenditure was on transport, which accounted for 34.3 per cent.

This was followed by accommodation expenses, which made up 24.3 per cent, and spending on food and beverages in restaurants and cafes, which represented 22.2 per cent. Other expenses accounted for 19.2 per cent.

On the domestic front, spending on travel within Cyprus also saw an increase, although a more modest one of 2.0 per cent, totalling €266.5m in 2022.

Spending patterns within the country showed a distinct preference for dining out, with spending on food and beverages in restaurants and cafes capturing the largest share at 39.1 per cent.

Accommodation expenses followed closely at 32.9 per cent while spending on transport constituted 11.9 per cent of the total expenditure. Other expenditures accounted for 16.1 per cent.