Nicosia: The resilience and momentum of Cyprus' tourism sector, despite the challenging conditions in March and April caused by developments in the Middle East and disruptions to air travel, are confirmed by the latest figures, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Thursday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Letymbiotis, speaking during a briefing for media representatives at the Presidential Palace, referred to 2024 as a benchmark year, when Cyprus recorded the best performance in the history of its tourism sector at the time, before reaching a new record in 2025.
Despite the exceptional circumstances during two critical months of 2026, arrivals in the first half of 2026 remained slightly higher than in the corresponding period of 2024, while tourism revenue increased by 7.5%, he added.
'From May onwards, the picture has been improving steadily, while the gap with the 2025 record has narrowed considerably', he said, adding that June was 'particularly indicative'. 'Arrivals reached 489,965, just 1.7% below June 2025, while revenue amounted to pound 423.1 million, 0.2% higher than in the same month last year', he added.
According to the Government Spokesperson, this demonstrates that performance also depends on the quality of Cyprus' tourism offering, the greater value generated per visit and the sector's ability to create a strong economic impact.
This performance, he said, is the result of cooperation between the state and the private sector, as well as a consistent strategy focused on diversifying markets, strengthening air connectivity, extending the tourist season and continuously upgrading the experience offered by Cyprus.
'The gap with the 2025 record is narrowing month by month, while performance remains above that of 2024, which until then had been a record-breaking year', he noted.
The performance of recent months confirms that Cyprus' tourism sector has strong foundations and significant resilience, Letymbiotis said, adding that efforts would continue with the aim of further strengthening this positive trend through to the end of the year, with 'reasonable optimism' that Cyprus' tourism sector will remain at particularly high levels.