Cyprus tourism revenue dipped 5.5% in February

Revenue generated from Cyprus tourism fell 5.5% in February to €49.5 mln from €52.4 mln in the same month of 2019, this was before coronavirus ruined this year’s holiday season.

The income drop occurred before the COVID-19 outbreak on Cyprus and the lockdown which closed all the hotels and airports.

For the two-month period January-February 2020 revenue from tourism is estimated at €89.7 mln compared to €92 mln in the same period of 2019, recording a decrease of 2.5%, the Statistical Service said.

Expenditure per person for February reached €468.72 compared to €496.81 in 2019, recording a decrease of 5.7%.

The expenditure per person/per day for February recorded an increase of 7.3% (from €59.86 to €64.21).

A decrease of 12% was also recorded in the average length of stay, from 8.3 days in February 2019 to 7.3 days this year.

The expenditure per person for January-February declined 4.4% to €469.28 from €490.89 in the same period last year.

The expenditure per person/per day for the first two months of 2020 compared recorded an increase of 5.4% (from €57.08 to €60.16).

The biggest spenders per day were the Lebanese with an average daily spend of €141.26 and the most frugal was the Swiss spending €38.71 per day.

Revenue from tourism generated €2.68 bln in 2019, down 1% from the previous year, on record arrivals of 3.97 million.

A COVID-19-ravaged 2020 will paint a completely different picture for a sector that contributes around 15% GDP to the Cyprus economy.