Nicosia: Cyprus recorded the largest decline among EU countries in overnight stays at tourist accommodation establishments in the first half of 2026, with a 7.7% decrease compared with the corresponding period of 2025, according to data published by Eurostat on Tuesday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, nine EU countries recorded a year-on-year decline in overnight stays, with the largest decreases observed in Cyprus (-7.7%) and Romania (-6.7%). At the same time, Cyprus recorded one of the highest shares of overnight stays by foreign visitors in the EU. Specifically, non-residents accounted for 92.6% of overnight stays in the country's tourist accommodation establishments during the first six months of the year, the second-highest share in the EU after Malta.
By contrast, the largest increases in overnight stays were recorded in Ireland (+14.6%), Malta (+9.9%), and Slovakia (+5.9%). Overall, a total of 1.321 billion overnight stays were recorded at tourist accommodation establishments across the EU in the first half of 2026, compared with 1.299 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. Eurostat data indicated this represented a 1.7% year-on-year increase.
Foreign visitors, meaning non-residents of the country where the overnight stay took place, accounted for 48.9% of all overnight stays in the EU during the first half of 2026.