Tuesday, September 17, 2019

TOURIST ARRIVALS AUGUST 2019


TOURIST ARRIVALS - AUGUST 2019

Tourist Arrivals 3,6%

On the basis of the results of the Passengers Survey, arrivals of tourists reached 553.845 in August 2019 compared to 534.847 in August 2018, recording an increase of 3,6%. August 2019 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month.


For the period of January – August 2019 arrivals of tourists totaled 2.735.839 compared to 2.719.622 in the corresponding period of 2018, recording an increase of 0,6% and outnumbering the total arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the first eight months of the year (Table 1).



Analysis of changes

Tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom increased by 1,0% in August 2019 compared to August 2018 while an increase of 1,8% was recorded for tourists from Russia and 23,6% from Israel. A decrease of 0,2% in tourist arrivals from Sweden and 14,2% from Germany were recorded. Percentage changes from one year to the next for the main countries of usual residence of tourists are presented in Table 1.

Main countries
The United Kingdom constitutes the main source of tourism for Cyprus for August 2019, with a proportion of 33,6% while arrivals from Russia comprise 20,9% of total arrivals, from Israel 9,4% and from Sweden 3,7% (Table 2).   
                                                                                                      
Purpose of visit

For a percentage of 88,1% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in August 2019 was holidays, for 10,2% visit to friends and relatives and for 1,7% business (Table 3).

Table 1


Country of usual residence
August
January - August
Tourist arrivals
% change 2019/18
Tourist arrivals
% change 2019/18
2017
2018
2019
2017
2018
2019
TOTAL
523.651
534.847
553.845
3,6
2.517.887
2.719.622
2.735.839
0,6
Austria
5.578
5.161
5.848
13,3
27.667
26.881
28.089
4,5
Belgium
3.456
3.873
4.149
7,1
18.928
20.682
18.140
-12,3
France
5.269
6.673
5.482
-17,8
26.254
26.363
22.302
-15,4
Germany
20.317
18.398
15.794
-14,2
117.829
120.071
98.574
-17,9
Denmark
4.443
5.846
5.845
0,0
24.575
30.126
27.820
-7,7
Switzerland (incl. Lichten.)
6.843
8.031
8.554
6,5
36.358
47.073
43.379
-7,8
Greece
12.420
13.551
13.056
-3,7
109.846
121.733
112.546
-7,5
United Kingdom
185.831
184.228
186.071
1,0
874.055
919.972
933.343
1,5
Israel
52.944
41.965
51.871
23,6
186.596
168.475
202.999
20,5
Lebanon
14.381
13.793
12.923
-6,3
43.375
47.734
42.260
-11,5
Norway
7.205
6.915
8.256
19,4
38.180
39.664
45.009
13,5
Netherlands
4.960
5.180
5.131
-0,9
24.833
27.279
28.804
5,6
Ukraine
5.760
9.717
10.352
6,5
31.789
46.812
59.838
27,8
Poland
8.537
11.332
9.634
-15,0
39.954
61.098
52.124
-14,7
Russia
119.829
113.599
115.682
1,8
581.930
552.428
534.673
-3,2
Sweden
18.303
20.708
20.673
-0,2
93.066
109.749
104.181
-5,1
Finland
2.687
2.549
2.958
16,0
13.670
17.129
17.049
-0,5
Other
44.888
63.328
71.566
13,0
228.982
336.353
364.709
8,4

Table 2



Country of usual
residence of tourists
Percentage (%)

Aug18
Jan – Aug 18
Aug19
Jan – Aug 19

United Kingdom
34,4
33,8
33,6
34,1
32,4
Russia
21,2
20,3
20,9
19,5
22,5
Israel
7,8
6,2
9,4
7,4
6,1
Sweden
3,9
4,0
3,7
3,8


Germany
3,4
4,4
2,9
3,6
3,1
Greece
2,5
4,5
2,4
4,1
2,2
Lebanon
2,6
1,8
        2,3
         1,5
2,5
Other countries
24,0
25,0
      24,9
25,9















Table 3
Purpose of visit
Percentage (%)
Aug17
Aug18
Aug19
Holidays
90,4
88,3
88,1
Visiting friends & relatives
8,3
9,7
10,2
Business
1,3
1,9
1,7

METHODOLOGICAL NOTES
Definitions

Tourists – Visitors who stay for at least one night in Cyprus.
Tourist arrivals – The term refers to the number of trips and not to the number of persons. This differs in the sense that one person can take more than one trips during the reference period.

Source of data and coverage
The data are obtained from the Passengers Survey which is conducted in the arrivals and departures halls in the airports of Larnaka and Pafos, as well as from administrative sources such as the monthly arrivals at ports.
The survey covers all persons who pass through passport control at the ports and airports in the government controlled area of Cyprus. It does not include travelers who arrive and depart illegally via ports and airports in the occupied part of Cyprus.

The weighting of data is conducted based on the data sent to the Statistical Service by the Civil Aviation Department and from the ship manifests, as well as data sent by the Analysis and Statistics Office of the Cyprus Police.