Britons and Israelis Leading Cyprus Tourist Arrivals

Positive indicators emerged earlier, with both Hermes Airports and the Ministry of Transport reporting a rise in passenger traffic through Cypriot airports in May.

This growth seems to have translated into higher tourist arrivals, despite a slight decline in Cypriots travelling abroad during the same period.

Official figures released by the Statistical Service on Thursday confirm the positive trend. Tourist arrivals in June reached 482,261, a 5.5% increase compared to June 2023 (456,985). The top five tourist source markets – the UK, Israel, Poland, Germany, and Sweden – remained unchanged from May and collectively accounted for 63.32% of arrivals in June.

Market breakdown

• UK: The dominant source of tourism, contributing 35.6% (171,704) of total arrivals in June.
• Israel: Rebounding despite regional conflicts, with arrivals reaching 10.7% (51,814).
• Poland: Solidifying its position as a key market with 7.5% (36,202) of arrivals.
• Germany: The recent bankruptcy of travel giant FTI appears to have minimal impact, with arrivals reaching 4.5% (21,552). Industry insiders report that most German tourists booked through FTI have made alternative arrangements and will still visit Cyprus.

The positive performance in June has driven the total number of tourist arrivals for the first half of 2024 to 1.65 million. This surpasses figures not only from the same period in 2023 (1.61 million) but also from 2019, previously the strongest year for Cypriot tourism.

Source: In-Cyprus