Cyprus tourist arrivals end the year in the red

Tourism arrivals in Cyprus fell by 2.2% over the year earlier in December, bringing the cumulative fall for the year to 0.5%.
Tourism arrivals totalled 2,403,744 in 2008, of which 1,242,650, or more than 50%, came from the UK.
A collapse in the UK market, especially in the second half of the year, was the main reason, therefore, for the decline. Total arrivals from the UK fell by 3.1% in 2008.
Arrivals from Greece, which is now the third-largest market, fell by 44.9% to 133,009, while arrivals from Germany fell by 4.6% to 132,053.
The only the main west European markets to hold up was Sweden. Swedish arrivals rose by 3.3% for the year. However, they fell by 20.2% in October and 11.3% in December, therefore it is not clear how much longer this market will hold up.
One important market has been Russia, with arrivals rising by 24% to 180,919. Russia is now the second largest market for tourists in Cyprus. Meanwhile, arrivals from the United Arab Emirates rose by 20.1%.
Cyprus tourism in 2008 suffered not only from a weak sterling, but also from high airport fees as a result of the upgrade of the two airports. Paphos was completed in November 2008 and Larnaca will be completed in 2009.
It is hoped that the completion of these upgrades will attract low-cost airlines that have been noticeable by their absence to date. However, EasyJet will start flying to Cyprus from March.

Fiona Mullen
www.sapientaeconomics.com