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On the basis of the results of the Passengers Survey, arrivals of tourists reached 192.090 in March 2018 compared to 140.873 in March 2017, recording an increase of 36,4%. March 2018 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month.

For the period of January – March 2018 arrivals of tourists totaled 369.438 compared to 285.693 in the corresponding period of 2017, recording an increase of 29,3% and outnumbering the total arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the first three months of the year (Table 1).

Analysis of changes

Tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom increased by 24,8% in March 2018 compared to March 2017 while an increase of 13,7% was recorded for tourists from Russia. Increases were also recorded from other important tourist markets, such as Germany (107,3%) and Israel (53,6%). 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 March 2018, with a proportion of 35,5% while arrivals from Russia comprise 11,8% of total arrivals, from Germany 9,8% and from Israel 8,0% (Table 2).

Characteristics of tourists

For a percentage of 73,6% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in March 2018 was holidays, for 13,2% visit to friends and relatives and for 13,1% business (Table 3).

Men comprise 47,2% of tourists and women 52,8%, whilst most of the tourists belonged to the age group of 20-44 years (Table 3).

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 from data sent by the Analysis and Statistics Office of the Cyprus Police.

For more information:

Lucy Panayidou: Tel.:+35722602152, E-mail: lpanagidou@cystat.mof.gov.cy