Seven-month tourism decline narrows to 8 per cent as summer season steadies

Tourist arrivals to Cyprus fell by 1.1 per cent in July, but a 55.8 per cent jump in visitors from Israel kept the overall decline small while nearly every other major market weakened.

A total of 582,754 tourists arrived during the month, compared with 589,116 in July 2025, according to figures released on Tuesday by the statistical service (Cystat).

Although July remained below last year’s level, arrivals were 5.7 per cent higher than in July 2024, when the island welcomed 551,229 tourists.

For the January to July period, arrivals reached 2,238,769, down by 8 per cent from 2,432,129 during the corresponding period of 2025. Cyprus therefore received 193,360 fewer tourists during the first seven months of the year.

However, the gap has continued to narrow. At the end of June, arrivals for the year were still 10.1 per cent below 2025, while the monthly decline stood at 1.7 per cent.

The United Kingdom remained Cyprus’ largest tourism market, accounting for 31.9 per cent of all arrivals, with 185,981 visitors.

British arrivals were 2 per cent lower than the 189,730 recorded in July 2025 and also slightly below the 186,751 registered in 2024.

Israel, however, moved sharply in the opposite direction. Arrivals climbed to 119,293, from 76,557 last year and 71,238 in 2024.

As a result, Israel accounted for 20.5 per cent of all tourist arrivals in July and added 42,736 visitors to the monthly total compared with last year.

Poland remained the third-largest market, although arrivals fell by 15.6 per cent to 36,912, from 43,713 in 2025. Nevertheless, the latest figure remained slightly above the 35,456 Polish visitors recorded in July 2024.

Germany followed with 21,338 tourists, down by 9.9 per cent from 23,694 last year but slightly above the 20,726 recorded in 2024.

Similarly, arrivals from Sweden fell by 2.7 per cent to 19,899, compared with 20,455 in 2025 and 23,511 two years earlier.

Elsewhere, Denmark generated 14,494 visitors, a decrease of 2.4 per cent from 14,857 last year. Arrivals remained above the 14,136 recorded in July 2024.

Norway was one of only two listed markets, alongside Israel, to record annual growth. Arrivals rose by 10.6 per cent to 14,055, compared with 12,704 in 2025 and 12,690 in 2024.

Romania, on the other hand, recorded 14,339 tourists, down by 15.7 per cent from 17,000 last year, although still above the 13,751 registered in 2024.

Arrivals from Greece also fell, declining by 7.5 per cent to 12,385. This compared with 13,383 visitors in 2025 and 16,888 in 2024.

Further down the list, Austria recorded 9,068 tourists, a fall of 26.2 per cent from 12,295 last year and 12,510 in 2024.

Switzerland followed a similar course, with arrivals dropping by 28.5 per cent to 8,609, from 12,033 in 2025 and 12,307 two years earlier.

Meanwhile, Hungary generated 8,521 tourists, down by 24.5 per cent from 11,292 last year and 10,723 in 2024.

The Netherlands accounted for 6,973 visitors, representing a 19.2 per cent decline from 8,630 in 2025. However, arrivals remained above the 5,980 recorded in 2024.

France suffered the sharpest annual fall among the markets listed by Cystat. Arrivals almost halved, dropping by 46.3 per cent to 6,797, compared with 12,648 last year and 14,076 in 2024.

Lebanon also recorded a decrease, with arrivals falling by 14.3 per cent to 5,481, from 6,396 in 2025 and 7,073 two years earlier.

Finally, markets grouped under “other countries” accounted for 98,609 tourists, down by 13.3 per cent from 113,729 last year, but above the 93,413 recorded in July 2024.

This sharp divide between individual markets was already being felt across Cyprus’ main tourist districts.

Famagusta hoteliers said demand was being driven mainly by visitors from the United Kingdom, Israel, Poland, Scandinavia and Central Europe.

At the same time, they reported weaker traffic from Switzerland and the Netherlands, largely because fewer flights were available during the summer.

In Paphos, hotel occupancy is expected to reach between 85 and 90 per cent in August, while Israel could become the district’s second-largest tourism market after Britain.

Turning to the purpose of travel, holidays accounted for 85.2 per cent of tourist arrivals in July, compared with 85.5 per cent in 2025 and 88.7 per cent in 2024.

Meanwhile, 11.7 per cent of tourists visited friends and relatives, up marginally from 11.6 per cent last year and considerably higher than the 8.6 per cent recorded two years earlier.

Business travel also increased slightly, accounting for 3 per cent of arrivals, compared with 2.8 per cent in 2025 and 2.7 per cent in 2024.

The same improvement was visible in airport traffic, which fell by just 1 per cent in July. More than 1.63 million passengers travelled through Larnaca and Paphos airports during the month, while the seven-month decline narrowed to 3.7 per cent.

Cyprus residents, meanwhile, travelled abroad in considerably greater numbers.

A total of 210,047 residents returned from overseas trips during July, an increase of 12.3 per cent from 186,987 in the corresponding month of 2025.

Greece remained by far the most popular destination, with 80,775 returning residents, accounting for 38.5 per cent of the total.

The United Kingdom followed with 14,832 travellers, making up 7.1 per cent of the total, while Italy accounted for 12,545 residents and a 6 per cent share.

Poland represented 7,412 returning residents and 3.5 per cent of the total. Germany held the same 3.5 per cent share, with 7,330 travellers.

As for the purpose of those trips, holidays accounted for 75.2 per cent, followed by business travel at 13.7 per cent and studies at 10.3 per cent. Other reasons made up the remaining 0.7 per cent.