Cyprus tourist arrivals up 1.7 per cent in first four months of 2024

Tourist arrivals to Cyprus in April 2024 amounted to 333,563, marking a decline of 2.7 per cent from 342,736 in April 2023, according to data released on Friday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Over the period from January to April 2024, tourist arrivals totalled 748,814, an increase of 1.7 per cent compared to 736,629 in the corresponding period last year.

The United Kingdom remained the main source of tourism in April 2024, accounting for 35.3 per cent or 117,902 of total arrivals.

This was followed by Israel, which contributed 10.7 per cent or 35,673 tourists, and Poland with 7.6 per cent, equating to 25,250 visitors.

Germany and Greece also contributed significant numbers, with 6.7 per cent or 22,510 and 3.9 per cent or 13,056 tourists respectively.

In terms of travel purposes, a substantial 82.1 per cent of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays in April 2024. This represents a notable increase from 79.3 per cent in April 2023.

Visits to friends and relatives accounted for 9.4 per cent, down from 14.5 per cent in the previous year, while business trips made up 8.3 per cent, an increase from 6.0 per cent.

Turning to the returns of residents of Cyprus, April 2024 saw 132,806 residents returning from trips abroad, a slight decrease of 2.1 per cent from 135,659 in the same month last year.

The majority of these returns were from Greece, which represented 35.7 per cent or 47,441 of the totals.

The United Kingdom and Italy were also popular, with returns from these countries comprising 9.6 per cent or 12,749 and 6.0 per cent or 7,907 respectively.

The primary purpose of travel for Cypriot residents in April 2024 was for holidays, which accounted for 61.1 per cent.

Business-related travel was also significant, representing 22.1 per cent, while 15.4 per cent travelled for studies, and the remaining 1.4 per cent for other reasons.