Cyprus Tourism Slows As Occupancy And Arrivals Fall Below Last Year’s Levels
Cyprus’ tourism sector is facing a weaker summer season than last year, with hotel occupancy, visitor arrivals and overnight stays all trending below 2025 levels despite improving bookings in recent weeks.
The softer outlook comes as Paphos Municipality and the Cyprus Hoteliers Association (Pasyxe) reaffirmed their commitment to closer cooperation on tourism development and service quality during a meeting at Paphos Town Hall.
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Acting Mayor Angelos Onisiforou and newly elected Pasyxe President Yiannos Pantazis said they would continue working together to strengthen Paphos’ tourism offering and address challenges facing the sector.
Occupancy Remains Below Last Year
Pasyxe Director General Christos Angelides said hotel occupancy is averaging about 85% during July and August, around 10% to 15% below last year’s levels. Although bookings have improved in recent weeks, uncertainty continues to affect demand for the autumn season, he said.
Angelides attributed the weaker performance to higher energy costs, expensive air travel and regional instability, adding that the industry is focusing on extending the tourism season beyond the summer months.
“Our biggest hope is to build on last year’s performance during the November 2026 to April 2027 period. That is where we believe the difference can be made,” he said.
Travel Industry Reports Softer Demand
Association of Cyprus Travel and Tourist Agents (ACTTA) President Haris Papacharalambous also said tourism activity remains below last year’s levels, although the decline has been moderate.
He said the Famagusta district has been more heavily affected than other regions and pointed to regional instability as one of the main factors influencing demand. Israel was the only major source market to record significant growth, with arrivals rising sharply from June 2025 after travel had been disrupted by the Israel-Iran conflict.
Papacharalambous said overnight stays are expected to finish 2026 around 12% to 14% below last year’s record level.
Arrivals Continue To Decline
Official figures from the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) show tourist arrivals fell 1.7% year on year in June to 489,965.
During the first six months of 2026, arrivals declined by 10.1% to 1.66 million, down from 1.84 million in the same period of 2025.
The United Kingdom remained Cyprus’ largest source market in June, accounting for 33% of arrivals, followed by Israel with 16.4% and Poland with 7.3%. Holiday travel represented 81.6% of total arrivals.
Paphos Gains International Recognition
Despite the weaker market conditions, Paphos recently received international recognition after being named the world’s top destination for sunrise and sunset views in a ranking by photo-printing company Cewe.
The ranking, produced in partnership with travel photographer Bella Falk and featured by Travel + Leisure, highlighted locations including Petra tou Romiou, Paphos Castle and the Edro III shipwreck.
Nasos Hadjigeorgiou, executive director of the Paphos Regional Tourism Board, said the recognition would strengthen the city’s profile in international markets while supporting efforts to promote tourism beyond the traditional summer season.
