Breaking news

Cyprus Secures Robust Tourism Growth Driven by Key International Markets

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

January 19, 2026

Strong December Performance Sets the Stage

Cyprus has recorded a significant surge in tourist arrivals in December 2025, as evidenced by the latest data from the Cyprus Statistical Service. The island welcomed 156,959 visitors in December 2025, marking an 18.0% increase compared to the same period last year. This performance underscores a robust finish to the year and highlights the resilience of the tourism sector.

Key Markets Fueling Growth

Analysis of the December data reveals that visitors from Israel and the United Kingdom were the primary drivers of growth. Israel emerged as the largest source market, accounting for 19.1% of arrivals with 30,020 visitors. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom contributed 19.0% with 29,826 arrivals, despite a modest decline of 5.3% compared to December 2024.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Other notable market contributions include Poland, which recorded a 42.5% annual increase to reach 17,779 arrivals (11.3% share), and Germany, where arrivals rose by 53.5% to 11,569. Additionally, Greece attracted 11,413 visitors, representing 7.3% of the total despite a 4.6% drop year on year. France and Romania also posted notable gains, with increases of 55.6% and 61.6%, respectively. Hungary and Austria led the growth among smaller markets, with increases of 81.8% and 37.8%, respectively, while declines were observed among visitors from Norway and Denmark.

Diverse Visitor Profiles and Broader Travel Trends

Beyond the raw numbers, the data reveals evolving travel behaviors. In December 2025, 56.4% of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays, a rise from 49.6% a year earlier. Visits to friends and relatives decreased to 32.0% from 37.5%, and business travel accounted for 11.3% of visits, down from 12.7%. The analysis also noted a substantial 29.6% year-over-year increase in arrivals from Israel, reinforcing its status as a critical market during the winter tourism season.

Outbound Travel on the Rise

Cypriot residents also increased their international travel, with 193,007 returning from abroad in December 2025 compared to 168,022 in the previous year – a 14.9% rise. The majority of returning travelers headed to Greece, which accounted for 28.4% of all returns. The United Kingdom and Poland were the next most popular destinations. Notably, 69.3% of these trips were taken for holidays, while studies and business ventures made up 15.0% and 14.9%, respectively.

Conclusion

The comprehensive data, derived from rigorous passenger surveys at Larnaca and Paphos airports and supplemented by port data, paints a robust picture of Cyprus’s tourism sector. With diverse source markets and evolving visitor profiles, Cyprus is well-positioned to leverage its popularity and further strengthen its position as a leading winter destination in the Mediterranean.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.