Record Rise In Tourist Arrivals
Cyprus experienced a significant influx of tourists, with arrivals surging by 13.7 percent in May 2025 to reach 479,160, up from 421,400 in May 2024. From January to May 2025, total arrivals climbed to 1,344,486, marking an impressive 14.9 percent increase compared to 1,170,214 in the same period last year.
UK Remains The Primary Market
The United Kingdom maintained its position as the leading source of visitors, contributing 37.4 percent (179,150 tourists) of the total arrivals in May 2025. Following the UK were key markets including Israel (9.4 percent), Poland (7.7 percent), Germany (6.2 percent), Sweden (4.8 percent), and Greece (3.7 percent), reinforcing Cyprus’s appeal across diverse European regions.
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Insights Into Visitor Motivation
The primary motivation for travelling to Cyprus remains leisure as 81.2 percent of tourists visited for holidays in May 2025. These trends align closely with last year’s figures, where holidays accounted for 83.7 percent of visits, supplemented by 11.1 percent traveling to see friends or relatives and 7.6 percent for business purposes.
Returning Residents And Travel Patterns
Analysis of returning Cyprus residents indicates a slight contraction, with 143,296 returning in May 2025 compared to 144,042 in May 2024—a 0.5 percent decrease. Greece led as the source of returning residents at 28.3 percent, followed by the United Kingdom at 8.1 percent and Italy at 7.1 percent. Holiday travel remained the foremost reason for residents, comprising 66.9 percent of trips, while business travel accounted for 29.7 percent.
Methodology And Data Collection
The data, collated through passenger surveys at Larnaca and Paphos airports and supplemented by administrative sources detailing monthly port arrivals, represents the number of trips recorded rather than individual travelers, acknowledging the possibility of multiple trips by the same person within the reporting period.
