Cyprus arrivals, departures drop 80% in 2020

The number of people travelling to Cyprus plunged 79.9% last year compared to 2019 while those departing from the island also recorded a drop of 80.1%, official data showed on Monday.

Arrivals of travellers in December alone reached 30,099 decreasing 89% from 273,714 in the same month of 2019.

The December decrease is mainly attributed to the drop in tourist arrivals (-91.2%) as well as the decrease in the return of residents (-87.6%).

Concerning the departures of travellers from the island, a decrease of 88.6% was recorded in December compared to the same month in 2019.

For the year – January to December – arrivals reached 1,161,079 a sharp 79.9% drop from the 5,777,029 who came in 2019.

Departures during last year also fell 80.1% due to coronavirus travel restrictions across Europe.

From March 15 to June 8 entry to Cyprus was banned for non-residents to prevent the pandemic spreading.