Cyprus tourism disappoints in November

After a reasonably strong October when tourist arrivals rose by 4.2% year on year, arrivals of tourists took a dive in November, dropping by 8.1% compared with November 2004, or more than 9,200 people, to 104,822.

This disappointing performance pulled down the year-to-date growth in arrivals to 5.5% year on year in the first 11 months, compared with 6.2% in the first ten months of the year.

The decline was witnessed across all major markets. Among the larger markets, the biggest drop was seen in arrivals from the Gulf, down by 28.4% year on year, from Sweden, down 27% and from Israel, down 19.7%.

Arrivals from Cyprus’ main market, the UK, were down 7.0%.

It is not clear why there was such a decline across the board, but high oil prices, which affect airfares, probably had a part to play. It is also possible that the colder than usual weather in November put off last-minute bookers, who can check weather conditions easily online.

It is also possible that the decline in November reflected a delayed impact of the Helios Airways crash in August.