Tourist arrivals to Cyprus fell by 7% in eight months

Cyprus welcomed 2,820,649 tourists in January–August 2026 — 7% fewer than in the same months of 2025, when 3,034,155 people visited the island. The data was published by the Statistical Service of Cyprus (CyStat).

The gap compared with last year’s level is gradually narrowing. After the first four months, the shortfall stood at 17.9%, after five months at 13.3%, after six months at 10.1%, after seven months at 8%, and now at 7%.

Compared with earlier years, the season is progressing well: the current eight-month result is higher than in 2024, when 2,758,627 tourists arrived, and exceeds the figures for every year from 2016 to 2023.

In August, Cyprus welcomed 581,880 tourists — 3.3% fewer than in August last year. This was the second-highest August figure in the decade from 2016 to 2026.

The United Kingdom remains the leading market, with 177,603 tourists, or 30.5% of all August arrivals. Israel recorded a notable increase, with 135,628 visitors, up 28.4% year on year. France saw the sharpest decline: 8,453 tourists compared with 15,663 a year earlier, a drop of 46%.

Some 84.5% of visitors came for holidays, while another 13% visited relatives and friends. In August, Cypriots themselves made 239,337 trips abroad, with 36.6% of them to Greece.