Despite the closure of the European airspace and the Cypriot airspace for Russian aircraft and companies under the sanctions against Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many Russians continue to arrive on the island for tourism mainly through third countries.
Based on official data from the Statistical Office, up to November, there were 61,796 tourist arrivals from Russia, a number that is not at all bad given that there is no longer a direct connection between the two countries.
It is further noted that the number of almost 62 thousand Russians who visited the island is sensational, possibly due to the Russian community in the free areas, surpassing the corresponding number even of European countries with which there is a direct air connection and reveals to some extent their preference for leisure travel and holidays on our island.
