Cyprus started the new year with an increase in the number of tourists

In February, the number of tourists in Cyprus recovered from the dip seen in January and increased by five percent compared to last year.

As a result, the increase in tourist arrivals in the first two months of 2024 amounted to 1.6 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2023, when record arrivals were recorded, writes the Cyprus Mail.

At the same time, the number of trips made by Cypriots abroad in February showed an increase of almost 12 percent compared to the previous year.

According to the statistics service, in February 2024, the number of tourists amounted to 125,034 compared to 119,081 in February 2023, which is 5% more.

In January-February 2024, tourist arrivals amounted to 212,995 compared to 209,630 in the corresponding period of 2023.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom were the main source of tourism in February, accounting for 24.6 percent (30,774) of total arrivals, followed by arrivals from Poland at 13.3 percent (16,591), Israel at 10.6 percent (13,290) and Greece at 10.3 percent (12,835).

The purpose of travel in February was vacation for 66.8 percent of visitors, visiting friends or relatives for 17.8 percent, and business for 14.2 percent.

The number of trips made by Cypriot residents abroad in February 2024 amounted to 114,110 compared to 102,001 in February 2023.

The main countries from which Cypriots returned in February 2024 were Greece with 32 percent (36,481), the United Kingdom with 11.6 percent (13,288) and Italy with 4.6 percent (5,306).

As TravelWise reported, Cyprus is reintroducing a "golden visa" scheme for wealthy foreign investors.