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2024: A Pivotal Year For Tourism And Economic Growth In Cyprus

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

December 2, 2024

Deputy Minister for Tourism, Kostas Koumis, has described 2024 as a milestone year for Cyprus’s tourism sector, highlighting record-breaking achievements in visitor arrivals and revenue. His remarks, delivered on Friday, follow the release of impressive figures by the Statistical Service.

Tourism Reaches New Heights

Koumis expressed satisfaction with the sector’s recovery, noting that arrivals and revenue have returned to, and even exceeded pre-pandemic levels. According to the Deputy Ministry, revenue from January to September 2024 rose by 31.1% compared to 2022 and 15.3% compared to 2019. Arrivals for the January–October period increased by 4.6% from 2023, and 26.7% from 2022, and even surpassed 2019’s figures by 0.8%.

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Additionally, Koumis pointed out that per capita expenditure remains steady, reflecting sustained economic benefits from tourism. Looking ahead to 2025, the ministry’s strategy prioritises investment in rural tourism, environmental preservation, and community-driven benefits.

Resilient Sector and Strategic Success

The Deputy Ministry credited the robust performance to effective market-targeting decisions and the resilience of the tourism sector. Koumis emphasised that Cyprus’s approach to diversifying its tourism offerings and focusing on quality experiences has yielded significant results.

Economic Highlights: Fiscal Surplus and Revenue Growth

Cyprus’s broader economic performance in 2024 also stands out. Preliminary data from the Statistical Service reveals a surplus of €1.43 billion (4.2% of GDP) for January–October, up from €664.8 million (2.1% of GDP) during the same period in 2023.

Revenue Growth

Total Revenue: Increased by 6.6%, reaching €11.69 billion.
Taxes on Production and Imports: Grew by 6.2%, with net VAT revenue rising 7.6%.
Income and Wealth Taxes: Surged by 16%, amounting to €2.9 billion.
Revenue from Goods and Services: Jumped by 29.9%, reaching €822.7 million.

While some areas, such as social benefits and employee compensation, saw increases, the overall fiscal picture remains positive, driven by disciplined spending and strong revenue growth.

Looking Forward

With record-breaking tourism figures and a strong fiscal position, Cyprus is well-positioned for sustainable economic growth. Investments in rural development, community benefits, and environmental sustainability ensure that both the tourism sector and the wider economy will continue to thrive in the years ahead.

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Google Says AI Has Accelerated Chrome Security Patching To Record Levels

Google said its internal AI tools helped identify and fix more security vulnerabilities in the last two Chrome releases than the company patched across the previous two years combined.

In a post published Thursday on its security blog, Google said it fixed 1,072 security bugs in Chrome versions 149 and 150, both released in June. That compares with 1,036 vulnerabilities fixed across the previous 23 Chrome releases.

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Google Expands AI Use In Security

Google outlined its approach in a white paper describing how it uses AI models to identify vulnerabilities and accelerate remediation. The report includes a chart showing a sharp increase in the number of bugs fixed in recent Chrome releases.

The company refers to each Chrome release as a “milestone.” Chrome version 126 was released in June 2024, while versions 149 and 150 shipped last month.

Company Says AI Speeds Vulnerability Detection

Doug Turner, Chrome’s director of engineering, said large language models have “fundamentally shifted the economics of cybersecurity” by automating vulnerability discovery.

“By applying models like Gemini, we are preemptively fixing vulnerabilities, outpacing our adversaries and making Chrome safer with every update,” Turner said.

Microsoft Also Reports More Security Fixes

Google is not the only technology company reporting higher numbers of security patches alongside broader AI adoption. Earlier this month, Microsoft said it fixed a record 570 vulnerabilities during its monthly Patch Tuesday release and cited its use of AI as one factor behind the increase.

Apple has not reported a comparable increase. According to an independent vulnerability tracker, the company has fixed 482 security flaws in 2026 so far, a total broadly in line with previous years.