An “invisible” tourism map, with short-term rental properties operating outside the official registration and licensing framework, has been revealed through a special Audit Office report on the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.
A sample audit of listings on popular platforms such as Booking.com and Airbnb shows that a significant number of tourist villas and organised apartments either do not appear in the ministry's registers or are advertised with inaccurate licence details.
In the Famagusta district, the Audit Office examined a sample of 150 listings on Booking.com and Airbnb to determine whether online-advertised properties were officially registered.
The review identified 23 cases, mainly tourist villas and organised apartments, that could not be matched to either the Register of Tourist Accommodation or the Register of Self-Catering Accommodation maintained by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.
In 14 of those cases, no registration licence number was listed on the platform at all, in violation of legislation requiring the mandatory display of registration numbers for transparency and oversight purposes.
In the remaining nine cases, a registration licence number was displayed, but the number could not be found in the ministry's registers, either because it did not correspond to a registered property or because it was no longer valid.
According to the report, the actual number of accommodation units may be higher than the officially recorded figure, meaning that the real percentage of fully licensed properties could be lower than 23%.
Furthermore, the findings indicate that a number of properties appear to be operating outside the prescribed registration and licensing framework, potentially creating significant distortions in the tourism market and limiting the effectiveness of oversight mechanisms.
Only three in ten fully compliant
A similar picture emerges in the self-catering accommodation sector, for which the ministry maintains a separate Self-Catering Accommodation Register.
As of 6 May 2026, the register contained 8,464 licensed properties across Cyprus.
During a sample review of short-term rental platform listings, the Audit Office successfully identified 20 properties based on information contained in their online advertisements.
Only six of the 20 properties, or 30%, were registered and held a valid licence matching the information contained in the ministry's records.
Ten properties, representing 50% of the sample, displayed no registration licence number on the platform and did not appear to be registered.
In four cases, accounting for 20% of the sample, the licence number displayed online did not correspond with the registry records. Either the licence was no longer valid or it related to a different property.
What the tourism ministry says
In its response to the Audit Office, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism stated that efforts to address properties advertised without registration numbers or operating outside the registry will be strengthened through the implementation of European Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 governing short-term rental platforms.
The regulation entered into force in May 2024, with the relevant obligations taking effect on 20 May 2026. It provides for stricter registration requirements and enhanced data-sharing and verification obligations between platforms and national authorities.
The ministry also said it intends to introduce new legislation regulating the operation of short-term rental accommodation.
The proposed bill will include requirements for mandatory certifications, in addition to existing administrative documentation, as well as on-site inspections, allowing the registry to function not merely as a database but also as a mechanism for ensuring suitability and safety standards.
