Tourism in Cyprus
Cyprus recorded a total of four million tourists in 2019, ranking 42nd in the world in absolute terms.That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Cyprus, the result is much more comparable picture: With 3.3 tourists per resident, Cyprus ranked 19th in the world. In Western Asia, it ranked 1st.
In 2020, Cyprus generated around 663.00 million US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 2.3 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 1 percent of all international tourism receipts in Western Asia.
A global comparison can be found here › International tourism
Back to overview: Cyprus
Development of the tourism sector in Cyprus from 1995 to 2019
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Cyprus each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 18 countries in Western Asia.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 2.02 billion USD, or about 20.32 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 2.25 million tourists at that time and roughly 896 USD per person. Within 25 years, the country's dependence on tourism has decreased substantially. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $3.25 billion billion, 12.51 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $788 on their vacation in Cyprus.In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $3.25 billion billion (2019), only $663.00 million billion remained. This is a 80 percent decrease in Cyprus.
All data for Cyprus in detail
| Year | Number | Receipts | % of GNP | Receipts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 4.12 m | 3.25 bn $ | 12.51 % | 788 $ |
| 2018 | 4.02 m | 3.45 bn $ | 13.47 % | 857 $ |
| 2017 | 3.75 m | 3.27 bn $ | 14.27 % | 873 $ |
| 2016 | 3.29 m | 2.87 bn $ | 13.64 % | 873 $ |
| 2015 | 2.78 m | 2.53 bn $ | 12.69 % | 909 $ |
| 2014 | 2.56 m | 2.92 bn $ | 12.63 % | 1,143 $ |
| 2013 | 2.63 m | 2.93 bn $ | 12.26 % | 1,116 $ |
| 2012 | 2.64 m | 2.60 bn $ | 10.42 % | 988 $ |
| 2011 | 2.63 m | 2.60 bn $ | 9.4 % | 991 $ |
| 2010 | 2.45 m | 2.14 bn $ | 8.3 % | 872 $ |
| 2009 | 2.37 m | 2.48 bn $ | 9.5 % | 1,045 $ |
| 2008 | 2.63 m | 3.23 bn $ | 11.61 % | 1,228 $ |
| 2007 | 2.67 m | 3.11 bn $ | 12.96 % | 1,163 $ |
| 2006 | 2.63 m | 2.69 bn $ | 13.41 % | 1,024 $ |
| 2005 | 2.66 m | 2.64 bn $ | 14.34 % | 995 $ |
| 2004 | 2.48 m | 2.55 bn $ | 14.73 % | 1,030 $ |
| 2003 | 2.42 m | 2.33 bn $ | 15.98 % | 962 $ |
| 2002 | 2.50 m | 2.18 bn $ | 19.07 % | 873 $ |
| 2001 | 2.84 m | 2.20 bn $ | 21.19 % | 775 $ |
| 2000 | 2.91 m | 2.14 bn $ | 21.40 % | 734 $ |
| 1999 | 2.58 m | 2.12 bn $ | 20.15 % | 820 $ |
| 1998 | 2.36 m | 1.92 bn $ | 18.72 % | 814 $ |
| 1997 | 2.19 m | 1.85 bn $ | 19.38 % | 843 $ |
| 1996 | 2.09 m | 1.90 bn $ | 19.02 % | 912 $ |
| 1995 | 2.25 m | 2.02 bn $ | 20.32 % | 896 $ |
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
Quality of life in country comparison
Mega cities - the biggest cities all over the world
List of the 36 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries