Cyprus August tourism unaffected by blast

Russia boost not a one-off

Tourism figures for August suggest that efforts made by the Cypriot authorities to keep the tourist spots supplied with electricity after the reduction in electricity capacity paid off, as tourism arrivals rose by 10.8% compared with the year earlier to reach 337,013 in August 2011 compared with 304,264 in August 2010.
On July 11th a massive explosion of ammunition confiscated from Iran knocked out the country’s main power station, leading to daily power cuts for around four weeks. But the authorities made efforts to keep essential services and tourism hotspots continually supplied.
The other good news is that the huge increase of tourists from Russia last year was not a one-off relating to the fires surrounding Moscow, but seem to be a longer-term phenomenon.
Arrivals from Russia leapt by 36.3% year on year in August compared with a jump of 81.1% in August 2010.
There has also been an increase in what is still the largest market, the UK. After more than four years of persistent decline, arrivals rose by 4.9% over the year earlier in August to 157,105, having also risen by 9.8% in July.
In the first eight months as a whole, arrivals of tourists totalled rose by 12.2% compared with the year earlier to 1,669,887, from 1,488,329 in the corresponding period of 2010.
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