Cyprus tourist arrivals dip in June as island continues to face a slower year

June tourist figures show signs of stabilisation for CyprusTourist arrivals to Cyprus fell by 1.7 per cent in June, according to figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) on Friday, although the monthly decline was markedly smaller than the sharper contractions seen earlier this year. A total of 489,965 tourists arrived in Cyprus in June 2026, compared with 498,527 in the same month of 2025. For the January to June period, tourist arrivals reached 1,656,015, down by 10.1 per cent from 1,843,013 recorded during the corresponding period last year. The June figures indicate that while the tourism sector remains below last year’s performance, the pace of decline has moderated following a difficult spring affected by regional geopolitical uncertainty. The United Kingdom remained Cyprus’ largest tourism market, accounting for 33.0 per cent of all arrivals with 161,913 visitors. Israel followed with 80,343 visitors, representing 16.4 per cent of total arrivals, while Poland accounted for 35,871 visitors or 7.3 per cent. Sweden ranked fourth with 26,884 visitors, representing 5.5 per cent of arrivals, followed by Germany with 21,587 visitors, or 4.4 per cent. The overwhelming majority of visitors, 81.6 per cent, travelled to Cyprus for holidays during June. A further 11.3 per cent visited friends and relatives, while 7.0 per cent travelled for business purposes. Compared with June 2025, the proportion of holidaymakers rose slightly from 81.2 per cent, while visits to friends and relatives declined from 13.2 per cent. Business travel, meanwhile, increased from 5.6 per cent a year earlier to 7.0 per cent, the latest report showed. The stronger share of business visitors comes as industry representatives have increasingly pointed to conference and corporate travel as an important source of resilience during a challenging year for leisure tourism. Recent comments from the Cyprus hoteliers association (Pasyxe) in Limassol highlighted that major technology conferences, international business events and the growing presence of foreign companies have helped cushion the impact of weaker holiday demand, particularly in the city’s hotel sector. Indeed, the city experienced a decrease in visitor numbers of around 20 per cent during the first quarter of 2026, when compared with the corresponding period of 2025. At the same time, destinations have sought to broaden their appeal to the domestic market. The Paphos regional tourism board has recently intensified campaigns encouraging Cyprus residents to holiday within the district, saying the initiative aims to help offset weaker demand from some foreign markets while supporting local businesses. The latest Cystat figures also showed that Cyprus residents continued travelling abroad in greater numbers. A total of 168,953 residents returned from trips overseas in June, an increase of 7.4 per cent compared with 157,324 in June 2025. Greece remained by far the most popular destination, accounting for 35.3 per cent of returning residents, or 59,664 people. The United Kingdom followed with 14,040 returning travellers, representing 8.3 per cent of the total. Italy accounted for 10,720 returning residents, or 6.3 per cent, while Poland represented 5,917 travellers, equivalent to 3.5 per cent. What is more, among Cyprus residents travelling abroad, holidays remained the primary reason for travel, accounting for 68.1 per cent of trips. Business travel represented 21.7 per cent, while 8.9 per cent travelled for studies and 1.3 per cent for other reasons. The tourism figures broadly mirror recent aviation data, which showed that passenger traffic through Larnaca and Paphos airports declined by just over 4 per cent in June, a significantly smaller fall than those recorded during March and April, suggesting that conditions have begun to stabilise after a difficult start to the year.