British tourists top the list, with Israel second and Poland third

Tourist arrivals in Cyprus rose by 6.9 per cent in July, with well over half a million visitors being recorded, according to figures released on Tuesday by the state statistical service.

Specifically, a total of 589,116 tourists visited the island during this time, compared to 551,229 in July 2024.

For the first seven months of 2025, tourist arrivals reached 2,432,129, up from 2,203,704 in the same period of 2024, marking an increase of 10.4 per cent.

Moreover, the United Kingdom remained the largest source of tourism in July, accounting for 32.2 per cent of total arrivals with 189,730 visitors.

Israel followed with 13 per cent or 76,557 arrivals, while Poland accounted for 7.4 per cent or 43,713 visitors.

Germany contributed 4 per cent with 23,694 tourists, Sweden 3.5 per cent with 20,455 arrivals, and Romania 2.9 per cent with 17,000 visitors.

The statistical service reported that the Netherlands recorded the most significant growth in arrivals with an increase of 44.3 per cent compared with July 2024.

Additionally, Poland and Romania also posted strong increases of 23.3 per cent and 23.6 per cent respectively.

In contrast, tourist arrivals from Greece fell by 20.8 per cent, while Sweden registered a decline of 13 per cent.

France recorded a decrease of 10.1 per cent and Lebanon 9.6 per cent, while arrivals from Austria and Switzerland slipped by 1.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.

In terms of purpose of visit, 85.5 per cent of tourists came to Cyprus for holidays during July of this year.

A further 11.6 per cent visited friends and relatives, while 2.8 per cent travelled for business purposes.

During July 2024, 88.7 per cent of tourists had come for holidays, 8.6 per cent to visit friends and relatives, and 2.7 per cent for business reasons.

Meanwhile, the number of residents of Cyprus returning from trips abroad rose by 9.1 per cent in July 2025.

Specifically, a total of 186,987 residents returned during this time, compared with 171,382 in July 2024.

The main destinations from which residents returned were Greece with a share of 36.8 per cent or 68,858 people, the United Kingdom with 9.4 per cent or 17,518 residents, and Italy with 5.9 per cent or 11,117 travellers.

The majority of trips abroad by Cypriot residents in July were for holidays, accounting for 75.1 per cent.

Business travel represented 14.8 per cent, while studies accounted for 9.1 per cent and other purposes 1 per cent.

The statistical service mentioned that the figures are derived from the passenger survey carried out at Larnaca and Paphos airports, as well as from administrative sources, such as monthly arrivals from ports.

The data covers all travellers passing through passport control at ports and airports in the government-controlled areas of Cyprus.