Tourists’ average spending in Cyprus last year was higher than pre-COVID 2019, when the island had record tourist arrivals and income, leaving stakeholders optimistic for the summer.
According to data released by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, tourists in Cyprus spent, on average, 13.4% more in 2022 than in 2019.
Last year the average expenditure per tourist per stay was €777, up from €685 three years earlier.
The monthly spending figures in 2022 show the usual seasonal pattern with higher spending in the summer, fluctuating from €702 in May to €886 in August.
The deputy ministry partially attributed the increase in spending to the fact that visitors, especially from newly added European destinations, tended to stay longer on the island.
Overall, the average length of a holiday increased by half a day, from nine days in 2019 to nine and a half in 2022.
“The increase in tourism income recorded is not just due to the change in destinations.
“On the contrary, it suggests that Cyprus has stepped up the quality of services offered, with tourists now having a variety of activities and experiences to participate in and eventually spend money on,” a Deputy ministry source told Phileleftheros daily.
As the ministry added, along with an increase in the average length of a trip, the average daily spend per head also increased.
According to the ministry’s data, the average daily spend of a tourist in 2022 (January to October) increased, by 7.4%, from €76 to €82, compared to the same period in 2019.
Tourist expenditure per trip increased from all countries for which preliminary figures are available.
The average amount spent per person in January – October ranged between €371 and €1,119, with tourists from Greece at the bottom of the scale and Swiss tourists at the other.
Israelis spent the most on average at €137 daily.
The Swiss followed them with €129 daily average; the Austrians spent €118, the Danes with €105 and Lebanese tourists €102.
The average daily expenditure considers money spent on the island’s accommodation, food and other activities. It does not include airfares.
Tourist arrivals hit 3.2 mln last year, despite Cyprus losing 800,000 Russian and Ukrainian tourists due to the war.
Visitors spiked 65% in 2022 after COVID-19 travel rules were dropped.
Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing EU sanctions, Cyprus was deprived of 800,000 arrivals, but tourism recovered to around 80% of pre-pandemic levels.
The island was around 700,000 tourists short of the record year 2019 when arrivals peaked at 3.97 million.
In the 11 months to November, revenue from tourism reached €2.381 bln from €1.459 bln in the same period of 2021 and €382.9 mln from January – November 2020.
A record €2.68 bln was generated by tourist spending in 2019.
