Cyprus: Cyprus' tourism sector has returned to a stable trajectory, Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis said on Friday, following the publication of June tourist arrivals data by the Statistical Service of Cyprus.
According to Cyprus News Agency, in a written statement, Koumis said the June figures confirm that "the country's tourism sector has returned to a stable path," describing the month's overall performance as satisfactory under the circumstances.
Tourist arrivals in June were down 1.7% compared with the same month last year. According to Koumis, the limited decline demonstrates that the weaker performances recorded in March and April, which were affected by the conflict in the Middle East, "now belong to the past."
He also said the results confirm that the measures implemented by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, together with the wider tourism industry, to manage the extraordinary situation that emerged from March 1 onwards have produced "clearly improved results."
Commenting on the first half of 2026, Koumis said the overall performance, which showed a 10.1% decline compared with the first six months of 2025 but a 0.2% increase compared with the corresponding period of 2024, should also be considered satisfactory.
"If we take into account the very significant losses recorded in March and April, which have a major impact on any analysis, the first-half performance is satisfactory," he said, adding that the latest figures also create "a window of hope" for further narrowing the overall decline by the end of the year.
Koumis stressed that the government and the Deputy Ministry are not focusing solely on headline figures.
"A thorough analysis shows that a number of source markets have been affected and continue to require targeted support to ensure their successful and uninterrupted development in the coming years," he said.
The Deputy Minister added that work is continuing on planning for the coming years, with particular emphasis on 2027, in cooperation with the country's tourism industry.
"Our ultimate objective remains the continuation of our collective effort to transform Cyprus into a sustainable, digitally smart and accessible destination for all," he concluded.