Cyprus Achieves Historic Tourism Milestone with Record October and Ten-Month Arrivals

Record-Breaking October for Cypriot Tourism

Cyprus's tourism sector has reached a significant milestone, with 537,744 tourist arrivals recorded in October 2025. This figure represents the first time the country has surpassed the half-million mark for October, signaling robust growth and a successful extension of its tourist season. The October 2025 arrivals show a substantial increase of 17.1% compared to the 459,106 visitors in October 2024.

Deputy Minister of Tourism, Kostas Koumis, expressed satisfaction with these figures, noting that they confirm 'the great leap in our country's tourism efforts towards extending the tourist season, which is the passport for the universal transformation of our country into a year-round tourist destination.'

Best Ten-Month Period in History

The positive trend extends beyond October, with total tourist arrivals for the January-October 2025 period reaching an impressive 4,142,534. This marks the best ten-month performance in the history of Cypriot tourism, surpassing the 3,727,196 arrivals recorded during the same period in 2024 by 11.1%. Furthermore, this represents a significant 40.8% increase over the same period three years prior.

Mr. Koumis highlighted that this achievement was 'as we expected, the best ten months in the history of tourism in our country,' attributing the success to methodical and coordinated government efforts.

Key Source Markets and Travel Purposes

The primary source markets contributing to October 2025's strong performance include:

• United Kingdom: Accounting for 31.4% of total arrivals, with 168,792 visitors.
• Israel: Contributing 11.1%, with 59,508 visitors.
• Germany: Representing 7.8%, with 41,783 visitors.
• Poland: Making up 6.7%, with 36,262 visitors.
• Sweden: With 3.9%, totaling 20,806 visitors.
• Greece: Accounting for 3.7%, with 20,038 visitors.

The main purpose of travel for tourists in October 2025 was overwhelmingly for holidays, accounting for 81.8% of visitors. Visiting friends and relatives made up 11.0%, while business travel constituted 7.1%.

Strategic Vision for Year-Round Tourism

The Deputy Ministry of Tourism has been actively pursuing a strategy to transform Cyprus into a year-round tourist destination. This includes improving air connectivity, implementing targeted digital promotion actions, and offering incentive plans focused on special forms of tourism and the winter season. The strong performance in traditionally 'shoulder months' like October indicates the effectiveness of these efforts in giving destinations and tourism businesses the momentum to remain open for longer periods.