Deputy Tourism Minister hails Cyprus’ tourism performance

Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the tourism figures for October, following a surge in arrivals that surpassed the half-million mark for the first time in that month.

He also underscored that the period of January-October 2025 was “the best ten-month period in the history of our country’s tourism”.

Specifically, tourist arrivals reached 537,744 in October 2025, significantly up from 459,106 recorded in October 2024, marking an increase of 17.1 per cent.

For the period of January–October 2025, total tourist arrivals reached 4,142,534, compared to 3,727,196 in the corresponding period of 2024, representing an increase of 11.1 per cent.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom were the primary source of tourism for October 2025, accounting for 31.4 per cent of total arrivals, which equated to 168,792 visitors.

“The October statistics confirm the good progress of our country’s tourism, but they primarily confirm the great leap in our country’s tourism efforts towards extending the tourist season, which is the passport for the universal transformation of our country into a year-round tourist destination,” Koumis said in a statement.

“It is the first time that the month of October exceeded half a million arrivals, something we had predicted and which certainly satisfies us,” he added.

Koumis stated that this constitutes a major achievement, especially compared to previous years.

The rise stands at 17.1 per cent compared to last year and at 34.2 per cent over a three-year span.

“It is important that the shoulder months (meaning the periods of time between peak and off-peak travel seasons), through their performance, acquire the momentum of a permanent summer character, so as to give destinations and tourism businesses the right to remain open for a longer period of time,” Koumis said.

“Of course, this also depends on the entrepreneurs themselves to evaluate the new data in tourism and take their decisions,” he stressed.

Regarding the ten-month results, “it is, as we expected, the best ten-month period in the history of our country’s tourism,” the minister said.

Specifically, a rise of 11.1 per cent was recorded compared to the previous year, and a rise of 40.8 per cent over a three-year span, “performances which undoubtedly satisfy us,” the deputy minister added.

“The government has worked methodically and in a coordinated manner towards this direction, focusing on improving air connectivity, which was accompanied by targeted digital promotion actions and incentive schemes focusing on special forms of tourism and the winter season,” he minister said.

“We continue, focused on the effort for sustainable tourism development,” he concluded.