British tourists flock to Cyprus as June arrivals hit half a million

Tourism in Cyprus continued to strengthen in June 2025, with tourist arrivals rising 3.4 per cent year-on-year to reach 498,527, compared to 482,261 in June 2024, according to the state statistical service.

For the first half of the year, tourist arrivals totalled 1,843,013, up 11.5 per cent from 1,652,475 in the corresponding period of 2024.

The United Kingdom remained the largest source of incoming tourists, accounting for 36.4 per cent of arrivals in June 2025, with 181,610 visitors.

This was followed by Poland with 7.3 per cent or 36,616 tourists, Israel with 6.1 per cent or 30,246, Germany with 5.3 per cent or 26,643, Sweden with 4.8 per cent or 23,750, and Romania with 3.4 per cent or 16,860.

Among the notable changes, Germany saw a significant 23.6 per cent increase in arrivals, while Denmark recorded the strongest growth rate at 73.6 per cent.

In addition, Romania posted a 29.1 per cent increase in visitor numbers, the Netherlands rose by 31.3 per cent, and Lebanon saw a 25 per cent increase.

Meanwhile, France experienced a 20.1 per cent drop in tourist arrivals, Switzerland fell by 11.2 per cent, and Greece declined by 16.4 per cent.

The share of tourists visiting Cyprus for holidays stood at 81.2 per cent in June 2025, down slightly from 83.4 per cent in the same month last year.

Those visiting friends and relatives accounted for 13.2 per cent, up from 10.5 per cent in June 2024, while business travellers made up 5.6 per cent, compared to 5.9 per cent last year.

At the same time, a total of 157,324 residents of Cyprus returned from trips abroad in June 2025, representing an increase of 15.1 per cent over the 136,739 recorded in June 2024.

The main countries from which residents returned were Greece, accounting for 34 per cent or 53,543 individuals, the United Kingdom with 8.3 per cent or 13,134, and Italy with 7.1 per cent or 11,173.

The majority of these trips were for holidays, representing 61.6 per cent.

Business-related travel made up 24.9 per cent, studies accounted for 11.8 per cent, and 1.6 per cent of trips were for other reasons.

The statistical service clarified that the figures represent trips rather than individual persons, since a single person may take multiple trips during the period.

The data were gathered through the passengers survey at Larnaca and Paphos airports, as well as from administrative sources including port arrivals.

They apply only to the government-controlled areas of Cyprus and exclude any travellers using ports or airports in the north.

The statistical service further explained that weighting was applied based on data from the Civil Aviation Department, ship manifests, and the Cyprus police analysis and statistics office.

Finally, tourist arrivals refer to visitors staying at least one night in Cyprus, and residents are defined as those who have resided in Cyprus for at least 12 months or intend to stay that long.