Tourism in Cyprus is heading for a significant recovery as arrivals reached 289,335 in April alone, up 657% or 251,109 more than the corresponding period in 2021.
According to a press release issued by the Cyprus Ministry of the Interior, the number of arrivals registered in April is 54 percent of all arrivals registered this year, which is 534,040 people. In addition, SchengenVisaInfo.com’s year-on-year arrivals data is up 854% from 55,973 registered in the first four months of 2021.
In addition, this number increased by 116% compared to 2020, when 246,556 arrivals were registered, and 22.5% behind the level of 2019, when 686,783 arrivals were registered in Cyprus.
The British also remain the main market in April, accounting for 40.1% or 116,074 of the total arrivals, followed by Germany with 8.3% (23,966), Israel with 7.7% (22,402), Greece with six percent (17,347). and Poland with 5.2% (15,137).
For almost 81% of tourists, the purpose of the trip in April 2022 was a vacation, 14.6% went to Cyprus to visit friends and relatives, and 5.2% visited the country on business. Similarly, in April 2021, 61.7% of tourists visited Cyprus for leisure, followed by 21.3% visiting friends or relatives and another 16.9% visiting Cyprus for business reasons.
Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios previously said that Cyprus plans to welcome more than two million tourists this year, stressing that the British will remain the main source of tourism.
The second is followed by the Russians, who account for 19.7% of all arrivals. Given the war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia, the number of arrivals is expected to drop sharply. Statista data shows that the EU will lose up to three million Russian tourists this year, with Cyprus, Germany and Greece being the most affected countries.
In addition, the European Travel Council (ETC) has warned European countries about the increase in the number of foreign tourists, with the exception of Russians, who are likely to make little or no trip.
The latest ETC report shows that Russians are the most insecure nationality when it comes to traveling to Europe, as only eight percent of them have booked tickets to Europe. Turkey is the most popular destination for Russians with a share of 24%, followed by Italy with 15% and Cyprus with 14%.
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