Cyprus' tourism industry posted mixed results in the first half of 2026. While tourist arrivals remained significantly below last year's levels, June brought some cautious optimism as the downturn eased considerably.
According to official figures released by the Statistical Service, tourist arrivals during the first half of 2026 fell by 10.1% to 1,656,015, compared with 1,843,013 during the same period in 2025.
However, the picture improved significantly in June, when arrivals declined by just 1.7%, reaching 489,965 compared with 498,527 in June last year.
The United Kingdom remained Cyprus' largest tourism market, while Israel retained second place.
Top five source markets in June 2026 were:
- United Kingdom: 33.0% (161,913 arrivals)
- Israel: 16.4% (80,343 arrivals)
- Poland: 7.3% (35,871 arrivals)
- Sweden: 5.5% (26,884 arrivals)
- Germany: 4.4% (21,587 arrivals)
Most visitors travelled to Cyprus for holidays, accounting for 81.6% of arrivals. A further 11.3% visited friends or relatives, while 7.0% travelled for business purposes.
The corresponding figures in June 2025 were 81.2%, 13.2% and 5.6% respectively.
Meanwhile, travel by Cyprus residents abroad continued to rise.
Outbound trips by Cyprus residents reached 168,953 in June 2026, representing a 7.4% increase compared with 157,324 in June 2025.
The most popular destinations were:
- Greece: 35.3% (59,664 trips)
- United Kingdom: 8.3% (14,040)
- Italy: 6.3% (10,720)
- Poland: 3.5% (5,917)
For Cyprus residents travelling abroad in June, the main purpose was holidays (68.1%), followed by business travel (21.7%), studies (8.9%) and other reasons (1.3%).
