Cyprus tourism leaps 17.3% y/y in July

The Cyprus tourism sector had its best July in over a decade in July, as arrivals of tourists jumped by 17.3% compared with the year earlier to reach 359,104, compared with 306,106 in July 2010.
After five years of almost consistent decline, arrivals from the UK, which remains by far the largest market, rose by 9.8% to 156,051, from 142,113 in July 2010.
The biggest increase, as has now become a pattern, was in tourists from Russia, with arrivals up a remarkable 61.9% to 56,361 from 34,814 in July 2011. Russia is now Cyprus’s second largest tourism market.
In the first seven months of the year arrivals of tourists rose by 12.6% compared with the same period of the previous year to 1,332,873, from 1,184,065 in January-July 2010.