UK STILL THE BIGGEST TOURIST MARKET
A STRONG INCREASE IN NUMBERSÂ
Tourism in Cyprus has seen a strong increase in 2024 with tourist arrivals in Cyprus reaching just over 3 million so far this year. This increase constitutes a 4% increase, compared to the same period last year. An average of approximately half a million visitors have arrived on the island each month, and June to September are still the most popular months for visitor arrivals on the island. August still remains the most popular month recording just over 550,000 arrivals entering the islands airports and ports, far surpassing all previous records. August has seen a year-on-year increase of arrivals recording an 8.5% increase from August last year.
NUMBERS ON TARGET
Despite some adverse conditions and a challenging start to the year, recent figures have indicated promising signs for the tourism sector on the island. The increases in passengers arriving and departing from both of Cyprus’s international airports are on target to beat previous records and June, July & August have been particularly strong months this year, marking an increase from the previous year. This means that pre-set targets to increase numbers are acheivable if current trends continue. The industry however, still faces challenges with a dramatic drop in flight availability from important European markets, such as France, Denmark, and Sweden, impacting the tourist sector negatively and making it harder for Cyprus to attract visitors from these countries. The number of Cypriots choosing to holiday abroad has also fallen for the first time in recent years, also adversely effecting numbers.Â
AN AMBITIOUS STRATEGY
It has been identified by The Ministry of Tourism, that the introduction of new direct flight routes to the island, is the best way to increase the amount of visitors, and as a result of this, it has been working hard to implement a new strategy for increasing projected airport traffic to Cyprus. The Ministry of Tourism, currently offers a generous package of lucrative incentives directly to national airline carriers from all over the world and a good example of this strategy is the United Kingdom, that still accounts for the largest source of visitors to the island. The United Kingdom is responsible for just under 40% of all arrivals to the island so far this year and this is partly due to the fact that British Airways have expanded their direct flight schedules to Cyprus for the 2024 main tourist season. The national carrier’s Gatwick to Larnaca routes are now to remain permanent, increasing the island’s air connectivity to the United Kingdom and they have recently announced that they are currently seeking ways to introduce new direct routes from other parts of the United Kingdom directly to the island. Visitors from Israel, Poland, and Germany have also seen increases after more direct routes were established in these respective countries.
