Countless generations of Cypriots have grown up with all their European neighbours paying them an annual visit; it has become part of the fabric of their society and in many cases their livelihood and the current figures show that tourism is on the up like never before!
Records have been broken in both the influx and outflux of tourists to and from the island. On Monday 10 September, the Cyprus Statistical Service released figures showing that more Cypriot residents chose to travel abroad this August compared to August 2017. On the basis of the results of the Passengers Survey, 184,285 residents of Cyprus returned from a trip abroad in August 2018 compared to 169,240 in the same month last year, recording an increase of 8.9%.The findings also indicated that inn August 2018, there was a small increase of 0.6% in the trips of Cypriot residents to Greece. According to the data 75,321 returned from Greece in August this year compared to 74,851 in August last year. On the other hand, a drop of 13.1% was observed in the trips of Cypriot residents to the United Kingdom, 17,000 this August compared to 19,571 in August 2017.
Tourist arrivals reached a record high this August and in the first eight months of this year, data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service show. The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) has expressed its satisfaction in a press release, noting that its initial projections “for yet another excellent year in tourism, registering upward trends, seem to be verified.”
Based on the results of the Passengers Survey, arrivals of tourists reached 534,847 in August 2018 compared to 523,651 in August 2017, recording an increase of 2.1%. According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, “August 2018 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month.”
During the first eight months of this year tourist arrivals came to 2,719,.622 compared to 2,517,887 in the same period of 2017, recording an increase of 8% and outnumbering the total arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the first eight months of the year. Tourist arrivals from Sweden increased by 13.1% in August 2018 compared to August 2017 while an increase of 9.1% was recorded in tourists arriving from Greece. A drop of 0.9% was recorded however in tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom, tourist arrivals from Russia fell by 5.2%, visitors from Israel dropped by 20.7% and a decrease of 9.4% was recorded from Germany.
However, the United Kingdom still constitutes the main source of tourism for Cyprus in August 2018, with a proportion of 34.4%. Russia follows with a 21.2% share of total arrivals; Israel has 7.8% of the share and Sweden 3.9%. According to the Passengers Survey, 88.3% of persons arrived in Cyprus for holidays this August and only 9.7% came to visit friends and family while 1.9% were here for business.
In its press release, CTO commented on the changes recorded in arrivals from countries which have been key sources for Cyprus’ tourism in the first eight months of the year, noting that there has been an increase of 16% from four northern European countries. It adds that an increase was also observed in the first eight months in arrivals from Poland (52.9%), the Ukraine (47.3%), Switzerland (29.5%) and Ireland (205%). It is further noted that apart from the two key markets, that of the UK and Russia, the rest of the countries have increased their share to 46%, up from 42% in the same period of 2017, a development which the CTO considers a very positive for the future.
Cyprus is becoming a world class destination, obtaining excellence in many different sectors such as hotels, the number of blue flag beaches, halloumi cheese and of course Cypriot wineries whom continue to obtain international accreditation. We are hopeful that more Cypriot produce will continue on this upward trend.
With the increase in tourism from various countries, Cypriot products are now gaining exposure, not only in the UK but in other parts of Europe. It is no coincidence that more Swedish tourists are choosing Cyprus for their summer holidays and that they are the second largest importer of Halloumi!
Join CyWineFest in the celebration of Cypriot culture and become ambassadors contributing to the promotion of all Cypriot products here in the UK. Follow us @CyWineFest on Facebook, Instagram and twitter.
Credit: CyWineFest team | Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) | Cyprus Statistical Survey
George Charalambous