Tourist arrivals in January set a new record for the month, rising an annual 8% to 81,970 in January 2019 compared to 75,867 in January 2018, latest Passenger Survey figures show.
Tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom increased by 17.6% in January 2019 compared to January 2018 while an increase of 5,4% was also recorded for tourists from Israel. Contrary to that, a decrease of 2.0% in tourist arrivals from Greece and 27.3% from Russia were recorded.
Main countries
The United Kingdom constitutes the main source of tourism for Cyprus for January 2019, with a proportion of 28.6% while arrivals from Greece comprise 13.7% of total arrivals, from Israel 10.6% and from Russia 9.6%.
Purpose of visit
For a percentage of 53.5% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in January 2019 was holidays, for 25.2% visit to friends and relatives and for 21.2% business.
| Table1 | ||||
| Country of usual residence | January | |||
| Tourist arrivals | % change 2019/18 | |||
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | ||
| TOTAL | 62,611 | 75,867 | 81,970 | 8.0 |
| Austria | 341 | 338 | 503 | 48.8 |
| Belgium | 527 | 482 | 378 | -21.6 |
| France | 1,027 | 1,187 | 746 | -37.2 |
| Germany | 2,206 | 2,431 | 3,291 | 35.4 |
| Denmark | 228 | 280 | 385 | 37.5 |
| Switzerland (incl. Lichten.) | 277 | 555 | 725 | 30.6 |
| Greece | 8,460 | 11,436 | 11,204 | -2.0 |
| United Kingdom | 17,404 | 19,945 | 23,447 | 17.6 |
| Israel | 5,241 | 8,240 | 8,684 | 5.4 |
| Lebanon | 1,075 | 1,739 | 1,478 | -15.0 |
| Norway | 265 | 351 | 873 | 148.7 |
| Netherlands | 299 | 383 | 518 | 35.2 |
| Ukraine | 1,130 | 1,687 | 2,079 | 23.2 |
| Poland | 1,062 | 1,882 | 2,119 | 12.6 |
| Russia | 13,677 | 10,832 | 7,876 | -27.3 |
| Sweden | 378 | 392 | 881 | 124.7 |
| Finland | 72 | 64 | 191 | 198.4 |
| Other | 8,942 | 13,643 | 16,592 | 21.6 |
| Table 2 | ||
| Country of usual residence of tourists | Percentage (%) | |
| Jan.18 | Jan.19 | |
| United Kingdom | 26.3 | 28.6 |
| Greece | 15.1 | 13.7 |
| Israel | 10.9 | 10.6 |
| Russia | 14.3 | 9.6 |
| Germany | 3.2 | 4.0 |
| Poland | 2.5 | 2.6 |
| Ukraine | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| Other countries | 25.6 | 28.4 |
| Table 3 | ||||
| Purpose of visit | Percentage (%) | |||
| Jan 17 | Jan 18 | Jan 19 | ||
| Holidays | 53.0 | 55.2 | 53.5 | |
| Visiting friends & relatives | 24.3 | 24.3 | 25.2 | |
| Business | 22.5 | 20.4 | 21.2 | |
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.
Read more:
https://in-cyprus.com/arrivals-of-travellers-rise-by-9-9-in-december-2018/
