UK and Israel drive surge as Cyprus welcomes 602,000 visitors in August

Tourist arrivals in Cyprus reached 602,026 in August 2025, marking an increase of 8.5 per cent compared with 554,923 in August 2024, the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) reported on Wednesday.

For the period from January to August 2025, total tourist arrivals reached 3,034,155, representing a 10 per cent increase from 2,758,627 over the same period in 2024, the report added.

The main source of tourism in August 2025 was the United Kingdom, accounting for 32.1 per cent of all arrivals with 193,091 visitors, followed by Israel with 17.5 per cent (105,597) and Poland with 7.0 per cent (41,844), the report said.

Germany recorded 4.6 per cent (27,665), Sweden 3.1 per cent (18,636), and Romania 3.0 per cent (18,300) of tourist arrivals, the Statistical Service noted.

An analysis of travel purposes showed that 86.5 per cent of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays in August 2025, while visiting friends and relatives accounted for 11.4 per cent, and business trips made up 2.1 per cent.

This compares with August 2024, when 87.3 per cent of tourists travelled for holidays, 10.2 per cent for visiting friends and relatives, and 2.5 per cent for business, the release highlighted.

A total of 238,740 Cypriot residents returned from trips abroad in August 2025, marking a significant increase of 23.9 per cent compared with 192,756 in August 2024, the report said.

The main countries from which residents returned were Greece with 33.1 per cent (78,915), the United Kingdom with 6.8 per cent (16,197), Russia with 5.1 per cent (12,084), and Italy with 5.0 per cent (11,824).

Holidays remained the primary purpose for returning residents, making up 91.6 per cent of trips, while business accounted for 6.7 per cent, studies for 1.3 per cent, and other reasons for 0.4 per cent.

Country-by-country comparisons showed increases in Austria, Denmark, and Germany, with rises of 12.4 per cent, 13.2 per cent, and 19.9 per cent respectively.

Greece, Hungary, and Israel also saw strong growth, with Israel recording a substantial increase of 42.6 per cent.

At the same time, Lebanon, the Netherlands, and Norway rose by 1.4 per cent, 13.8 per cent, and 16.4 per cent respectively.

Romania and the United Kingdom also experienced growth of 26.7 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.

However, arrivals from France, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland fell by 6.8 per cent, 1.9 per cent, 17.2 per cent, and 14.0 per cent respectively.

The data was collected from the Passengers Survey at Larnaka and Pafos airports, as well as administrative sources such as monthly arrivals from ports.

The survey covers all persons passing through passport control in the government-controlled areas of Cyprus but does not include travellers who arrive or depart illegally via ports and airports in the north.