Cyprus Mail 17 January 2025 - by Rebekah Gregoriades
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| Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis |
Tourist arrivals in 2024 surpassed 4 million for the first time, breaking the previous record of 3,976,777 set in 2019. Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis hailed the milestone as a historic achievement, accompanied by another record: revenue is projected to exceed €3 billion.
Arrivals increased by 5.1 per cent compared to 3,845,652 tourists in 2023. December alone set a new historical record, with 133,063 arrivals compared to 123,630 in December 2023, marking a 7.6 per cent increase, according to the Statistical Service.
In a written statement, Koumis said the data “officially seals the tourism success of 2024, a success that belongs to the entire tourism ecosystem of our country.”
Koumis acknowledged the challenges faced by the sector, including the Middle East crisis, economic conditions in Europe, and ongoing issues in aviation. He emphasised the importance of bolstering the sector’s resilience, which includes thousands of businesses.
“We are committed to investing in education and improving our tourism products and services, knowing that we must address emerging challenges, with climate change being the most significant,” he added.
Arrivals from the United Kingdom were the main source of tourism for December 2024, with a share of 23.7 per cent (31,501) of total arrivals, followed by Israel with 17.4 per cent (23,168), Poland with 9.4 per cent (12,473), Greece with 9 per cent (11,969) and Germany with 5.7 per cent (7,535).
For 49.6 per cent of tourists, the purpose of their trip in December 2024 was holidays, for 37.5 per cent visit to friends and relatives and for 12.7 per cent business.
In December 2023, 58.4 per cent of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays, 30.4 per cent visited friends or relatives and 11 per cent visited Cyprus for business reasons.
A total of 168,022 residents of Cyprus returned from a trip abroad in December 2024 compared to 153,736 in the corresponding month last year, recording an increase of 9.3 per cent.
The main countries from which residents of Cyprus returned in December 2024 were Greece with a share of 31.2 per cent (52,344), the United Kingdom with 13.7 per cent (22,995) and Poland with 5.3 per cent (8,956).
The purpose of travel for the residents of Cyprus in December 2024 was mainly holidays, with 65.7 per cent, whilst business reasons were 16.3 per cent, studies 17.6 per cent and other reasons 0.4 per cent.
