CYPRUS TOURISM HAD THE NUMBERS, BUT WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

CYPRUS TOURISM HAD THE NUMBERS, BUT WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? - Cy Mail 18/8 by Souzana Psara


Seven-month tourism decline narrows to 8 per cent as summer season steadies

Tourist arrivals to Cyprus fell by 1.1 per cent in July, but a 55.8 per cent jump in visitors from Israel kept the overall decline small while nearly every other major market weakened.

A total of 582,754 tourists arrived during the month, compared with 589,116 in July 2025, according to figures released on Tuesday by the statistical service (Cystat).

Although July remained below last year’s level, arrivals were 5.7 per cent higher than in July 2024, when the island welcomed 551,229 tourists.

WHAT'S ON - 19-31 AUGUST

 

WHAT'S ON - 19-31 AUGUST

ERIN LEIGH - Mario's Bar, Tala - 21 August

 

ERIN LEIGH

Mario's Bar, Tala

21 August - 9pm

Free entry

FROM €85 TO €1,500 - CYPRUS GETS TOUGH ON UNLICENSED JET SKI OPERATORS

FROM €85 TO €1,500 - CYPRUS GETS TOUGH ON UNLICENSED JET SKI OPERATORS - KNews 18/8

After the serious Pernera accident, Cyprus’ modest penalty comes under scrutiny, with a new law set to raise the fine to €1,500.


After the serious accident involving a jet ski in Pernera, questions are being raised about how people with no operator’s license can legally rent and drive the high-speed vessels in Cyprus.

Under legislation in force since 2020, any adult can rent a jet ski or another high-speed boat from a licensed watersports business without holding an operator’s license, an official told the Cyprus News Agency.

ANKARA'S MARINE PARKS IN THE AEGEAN MARK A CLEAR TURN FROM CALM WATERS

Tayyip Erdogan said that Donald Trump ''has promised us the F-35s and the fulfilment of this promise is important for Turkey''. Photo credit: lionsinthepiazza.com

ANKARA'S MARINE PARKS IN THE AEGEAN MARK A CLEAR TURN FROM CALM WATERS - KNews 18/8 by Dora Antoniou

Athens reads the presidential decrees as an illegal bid to lock in claims under the cover of environmental protection.


Athens sees the publication in the Turkish Official Gazette of the presidential decrees by which Ankara declared marine parks in two areas as a clear step up in the push to force through the Turkish revisionist agenda in the Aegean and as the finishing of the shift away from the “calm waters” approach. One park sits in the North Aegean, in the sea between Lemnos and Samothrace. The second sits in the Eastern Mediterranean, surrounding Kastellorizo and cutting it completely off from Rhodes.

UNDER THE LIGHT OF THE RED MOON - Heroes Theatre, Limassol - 28 August

Cyprus Mail 18 August 2026 by Eleni Philippou

UNDER THE LIGHT OF THE RED MOON

Heroes Theatre, Limassol

28 August - 7.30pm

Live music with Dora Giannaki and Kostas Konstantiou. Free admission

CYPRUS ENTERS EUROPE'S GAMING BIG LEAGUE WITH €3.2billion INDUSTRY

CYPRUS ENTERS EUROPE'S GAMING BIG LEAGUE WITH €3.2billion INDUSTRY - Cy Mail 18/8 by Souzana Psara



Cyprus has broken into Europe’s ten largest video game industries by revenue, with more than 400 companies on the island generating an estimated €3.2 billion from games in 2025.

The finding comes from the first industry report published by the Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA), which attempts to measure a sector that has expanded rapidly but remained largely absent from official statistics.

According to the report, 415 game studios and related companies were operating from Cyprus last year. Their mobile titles recorded about 615 million downloads, placing the island third worldwide behind China and Vietnam and ahead of the US.