Despite the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, Cyprus’ tourism sector is proving resilient. Strong advance bookings is helping cushion the sector against potential fallout from the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.
Industry sources indicate that so far, the unrest has triggered a modest dip in bookings—most notably from Israel and parts of Europe—but the overall impact remains limited. Cancellations remain indeed in the low single digits.
Cyprus even registered record numbers. The country welcomed 1.843 million tourists between January and June 2025, marking an 11.5% rise from 1.652 million during the same period in 2024, according to figures from the Statistical Service.
In June alone, tourist arrivals reached 498,527, up 3.4% year-on-year. The United Kingdom remained Cyprus’ leading tourism market, contributing 181,610 visitors, or 36.4% of the total. Other key source countries included Poland (7.3%), Israel (6.1%), Germany (5.3%), Sweden (4.8%), and Romania (3.4%).
Denmark saw the most significant increase, with visitor numbers soaring by 73.6%. The Netherlands followed with a 31.3% jump, while Romania and Lebanon recorded increases of 29.1% and 25%, respectively. In contrast, arrivals from Israel dropped sharply by 41.6%, with France and Greece also declining by 20.1% and 16.4%.
Leisure travel continued to dominate, accounting for 81.2% of all arrivals. Visiting friends and relatives made up 13.2%, while 5.6% of tourists cited business as their main reason for travel.
Spending up by over 30%
Meanwhile, tourism spending is also on the increase. Based on the results of the Passengers Survey carried out by Cyprus Statistical Service, revenue from tourism reached €304.2 million in April 2025, recording an increase of 39.9% as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year (€217.4 million).
For the period of January – April 2025, revenue from tourism is estimated at €582.5 million. This represents an increase of 32.2% compared to the corresponding period of 2024. The average expenditure per person reached €726.42 in April 2025 up 11.5% compared to April 2024.
