Nicosia: Tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2025 reached 450,000, setting a new record, with this trend expected to continue to set yet another record by the end of 2025, with numbers projected to reach around 4.25 million arrivals, President of the Association of Cyprus Travel and Tourism Agents (ACTTA), Charis Papacharalambous, said on Friday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, speaking at the official opening of the ‘Travel Expo Cyprus 2025’ exhibition at the State Fair in Nicosia, which was inaugurated by Deputy Minister of Tourism, Kostas Koumis, Papacharalambous said, according to a press release, that this year’s event is quite upgraded. “We hope that in 2026 it will be even better with new and innovative changes as our vision is to transform the exhibition into a regional celebration of tourism, taking advantage of our country’s strategic location, both geographically and in terms of tourism,” he said.
Papacharalambous expressed his optimism for the travel sector, which, he said, has recovered strongly, having recorded two consecutive record years in Cypriots’ trips abroad, reaching 1.75 million trips in 2024, an increase of 4.4% compared to the previous year and an increase of more than 11% compared to 2019.
An increase, he added, was also observed in the first quarter of 2025, “with the prospect of reaching 2 million trips, a goal that is not far off,” he pointed out.
Papacharalambous also said that tourist arrivals in the first quarter of the year have reached 450,000, also setting a record, so that yet another record will be set by the end of 2025, with numbers projected to reach around 4.25 million arrivals.
These projections, he noted, are also in line with Hermes Airports’ recent estimates that put total passenger traffic from the two airports in the country at 6.5 million passengers.
Welcoming the close cooperation of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism in matters of planning and promotion of Cyprus abroad, not only with ACTTA, but also with all other private sector operators, he said that in order to change the ratio between the summer and winter season, a lot needs to be done by all parties in the framework of a specific plan.
Finally, Papacharalambous gave the assurance that ACTTA and its members will be ready this year “to serve with professionalism, reliability and responsibility all travellers to and from Cyprus.”