Cyprus tourist arrivals fall 1.1% in July as Israel surge offsets European declines

Economy IsraelTop NewsTourismuk Cyprus tourist arrivals fall 1.1% in July as Israel surge offsets European declines Larnaca Tourism Relevant News Cyprus tourist arrivals fall 1.1% in July as Israel surge offsets European declines 19 August 2026 Jet ski accident reveals delay in new Cyprus boating rules 19 August 2026 South Korea minister says Trump appears to be pressuring Seoul over Iran, investment 19 August 2026 Angelos Angelodimou 19 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Tourist arrivals in Cyprus fell 1.1% in July, the Statistical Service said on Tuesday, a modest headline figure that conceals a sharper shift underneath: 13 of the 15 markets it tracks posted declines, and only an exceptional month from Israel kept the overall number from falling further. Arrivals reached 582,754 in July 2026, down from 589,116 a year earlier. For the January–July period, arrivals totalled 2,238,769, against 2,432,129 over the same period in 2025, a fall of 8%. Poland and Germany, both significant markets for Cyprus, were among the central European countries recording declines in July. Israel bucked the trend, delivering another month of sharp growth and effectively “saving” the month’s figures. Norway also posted a rise, though on a far smaller scale. Declines across 13 markets The UK stayed the largest single source market in July, making up 31.9% of arrivals (185,981), ahead of Israel on 20.5% (119,293), Poland on 6.3% (36,912), Germany on 3.7% (21,338) and Sweden on 3.4% (19,899). Israel’s growth has been the standout trend of the past three years, climbing from 71,238 arrivals in July 2024 to 76,557 in 2025 and surging to 119,293 this year, up 55.8% on July 2025 alone. That growth has narrowed the gap with the UK, Cyprus’s largest market, to around 65,000 arrivals in absolute terms. UK numbers, by contrast, have moved less predictably: 186,751 in July 2024, up to 189,730 in 2025, then back down to 185,981 this year. Poland and Germany moved the other way. Poland’s arrivals fell 15.6% in July compared with the same month last year, while Germany, a market authorities have been investing in, dropped 9.9%. Koumis: sector has shown resilience Deputy Minister of Tourism Costas Koumis said the July figures reflected the resilience of Cypriot tourism and captured the true picture of a destination that remains vibrant. The 1.1% monthly fall, he said, along with the January–July decline now dropping below 10% for the first time, bore that out. He pointed to longer-term comparisons as further evidence: arrivals for the January–July period remain 1.6% above the same period in 2024, 4.7% above 2023 and 33.6% above 2022. Koumis added that the government and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism are tracking each geographic market separately, with growing focus on the years ahead and on how international geopolitical developments affect each one individually. Read more: Cyprus tourist arrivals fall 1.1% in July, 8% over seven months Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Jet ski accident reveals delay in new Cyprus boating rules South Korea minister says Trump appears to be pressuring Seoul over Iran, investment Cyprus, Bulgaria among Iran’s potential targets in Europe, FT reports Hormuz traffic slows as uncertainty over waterway persists As Europe bakes, momentum grows for climate-resilient farming Thailand Ghost Game Festival On this day: Voting in Germany decides Adolf Hitler as Fuhrer in 1934 Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.