Filenews 23 July 2023 - by Adamos Adamou
As everything shows, the goal set by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism for this year is achievable, as the performance of the first half confirms that the data will be significantly better than last year.
In this context, the bet is how close arrivals will rise to those of 2019, which was the previous normal year before the pandemic, but at the same time it was the best year in the history of Cypriot tourism, with visits reaching four million.
According to the Statistical Service, arrivals in the first half of 2023 amounted to 1.613.690, compared to 1.221.382 in the corresponding period of 2022, recording an increase of 32,1%. Compared to the first half of 2019, arrivals recorded a marginal decrease of 1.06%, as they had reached 1,631,023 at that time.
The positive performance recorded this year has its own significance, as for yet another year the Russian market, which was once the second most important market for Cypriot tourism, is absent from the equation due to the war in Ukraine. Now, however, in its place is Israel, which annually brings considerable tourists.
Data processed by "F", with the help of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, show that the main markets for attracting tourists have not changed drastically compared to 2019, with the exception of course the absence of the Russian market from the main sources of tourism and tourists and with the inclusion in the top five of Poland, with the flow of tourists from this market and not only due to the successful actions of recent years by Hermes Airports and the Ministry of Transport, to enhance the country's connectivity.
Top 5
The latest data from the Statistical Office confirm the truth that Russia's position as a second market is now covered by Israel, while the same data also show that Russia's place in the top five was occupied by Poland. With the rest of the markets attracting significant tourist flows, at least in the first half of the year, not changing this year compared to 2019.
– Specifically, the data we processed shows that the UK remains the most important market for Cypriot tourism and is in the first place of the top 5 markets steadily this year, as it was in 2019. In fact, the percentage of arrivals from the United Kingdom in the first half of this year is almost the same as in the same period in 2019. Specifically, in the first half of 2023, arrivals from the United Kingdom amounted to 550.620 and constituted 34.1%, while in the first half of 2019 they were estimated at 562.006 and again constituted 34.5% of total arrivals in the period January – June 2019.
– The top 5 in this year's first half is completed by Israel, which with 170,913 visitors was the second most important market, accounting for 10.6% of total arrivals in the first half.
– Poland follows with 121,134 tourist arrivals and a share of 7.5% of total visits in the first half of the year, Greece with arrivals of 97,735 in the same period and a share of 6.1%, while Germany closes the top five with 89,680 arrivals, which constituted 5.6% of the total.
Similarly, in the first half of 2019 in the top five were the United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Greece and again Germany.
Arrivals from the UK in the first six months of 2019 – as reported – had reached 562,996 and constituted 34.5% of total tourist arrivals. The second market was Russia with 303,402 tourist arrivals or 18.6% of total arrivals in the first half of the year.
The absence of Russia from the top five tourist markets for Cyprus was also recorded in 2022, with the appearance of Poland. The above data shows the dynamics developed by both the Israeli and Polish markets.

Sees new momentum in revenue for 2024
Annual growth is also recorded in revenues from tourism, while estimates are that the increase will continue for the whole year. For the period January – April 2023, tourism revenues are estimated at €417.6 million, compared to €322.0 million. in the corresponding period of 2022, recording an increase of 29,7%. In the first four months that data are available, revenues also recorded an increase compared to 2019, of 11.3%.
The Fiscal Board, in its interim report, released last week, estimates that it is difficult to achieve the target of revenues higher than those of 2019. The Council states that the picture is that, while arrivals continue to record an increase until June, approaching 2019 levels, a downward trend is recorded, both in the daily and per capita expenditure of tourists, while the duration of stay in Cyprus is slightly reduced.
"This picture is due to external conditions prevailing in the economies of the states that are the main markets for the Cypriot tourist product. Thus, we expect tourism revenues to record an increase compared to last year, but it is difficult to achieve the target for revenues higher than those of 2019," he continues. He also points out that "addressing the ageing of the tourism product and changing the business model by certain units of the sector are imperative, in order to maintain the competitiveness of Cyprus, which continues to decline. The economic recovery in key markets such as the UK, Poland and Germany in 2024 is expected to create new momentum," the Fiscal Council said. It is recalled that tourism revenues in 2022 reached €2.44 billion. compared to €2.64 billion in 2019.
Target 5-10% increase
As mentioned, with the data so far, but also with the flow of bookings that hoteliers confirm continue smoothly, the goal for this year seems to be achieved. The goal, according to repeated statements by Deputy Minister of Tourism Costas Koumis, is for arrivals to record an increase of 5-10% compared to last year, "with a note that we will never stop working for even better results".
It is recalled that in 2022 arrivals for the whole year amounted to 3.201.080, compared to 1.936.931 in 2021 and compared to 3.976.777 in 2019.