Tourism in Cyprus last year at 48.7% of 2019

Tourism arrivals in Cyprus last year increased by 206.7% compared to 2020, according to data released on Thursday by the Statistical Service of Cyprus (CyStat). However, arrivals were down by 51.3% compared to 2019, which was historically the best year for Cyprus tourism.

For the period of January–December 2021, tourism arrivals came to 1,936,931, compared to 631,609 in the corresponding period of 2020, recording an increase of 206.7%, and a decrease of 51.3% compared to the period of January–December 2019 (3,976,777 arrivals).

The arrivals of tourists amounted to 96,928 in December last year, compared to 9,682 in December 2020 and to 110,330 tourist arrivals in December 2019, CyStat reported.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom were at the top of the list for December 2021, representing 19.8% (19,199) of total visitor numbers. They were followed by visitors from Greece at 12.8% (12,420), Russia at 9.5% (9,234), Poland at 7.2% (6,989), Germany at 6.8% (6,618) and Ukraine at 6.4% (6,169).

In December, 61.5% of tourists traveled to Cyprus for holidays, 29.0% to visit friends and relatives and 9.5% for business.