The number of crossings made between the Republic and the north by Greek Cypriots fell by almost 4.5 per cent in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to figures released by the north’s central bank on Friday night.

Over the same period, however, the number of crossings made by Turkish Cypriots grew by 17 per cent.

As the cost of living has risen in the north, particularly for basic items such as meat, many Turkish Cypriots have elected to buy cheaper produce in the Republic, and could have inflated the number of crossings made.

The north’s central bank counts entries to the north as its figures, though, in the case of most Cypriots, a crossing in one direction is usually followed by a crossing in the other as they live on one side or another.

In total, exactly 2,198,533 crossings were made by Greek Cypriots across the island’s nine crossing points between the start of January and the end of September – down from a total of 2,302,065 over the first nine months of 2023.

The number of crossings made by Greek Cypriots was just over 40,000 higher than the number of crossings made by Turkish Cypriots over the first nine months of the year, despite the fact that there are many more Greek Cypriots living on the island.

Exactly 2,158,150 crossings were made by Turkish Cypriots during the nine months, up from a total of 1,840,404 between the start of January and the end of September last year.

The number of non-Cypriots crossing between the island’s crossing points was also markedly down, with a decrease of 7.7 per cent recorded over the nine months. In total, 1,537,206 crossings were made by non-Cypriots – down from 1,665,507 in the first nine months of last year.

As an overall picture, this means that a total of 5,893,889 crossings were made to the north at Cyprus’ nine crossing points in the first nine months of the year. This figure is in fact higher by 1.4 per cent than last year’s equivalent figure of 5,807,976, though this is inflated by the sheer number of Turkish Cypriots crossing.

One explanation for the inflated number of crossings made by Turkish Cypriots is that when leaving the island, many Turkish Cypriots choose to fly from the Republic’s airports as flights are often cheaper.

This point was picked up on by Turkish Cypriot travel agencies’ association (Kitsab) chairman Orhan Tolunin September.

“People with a Republic of Cyprus identity card are all flying from Larnaca and Paphos. You can find a plane ticket from Larnaca to Malta for €100, but our ticket prices are very expensive,” he said.

However, another more pressing reason may be what opposition political party CTP leader Tufan Erhurman has described as a “southward shift” in the north’s economy as the cost of living there rises.

To this end, roads around the Ayios Dhometios crossing point saw large tailbacks on Friday as Turkish Cypriots attempted to cross to the Republic to take advantage of Black Friday sales at the malls and other popular shops.