Cyprus tourism earnings up 3.5 pct in 1st qtr

Cyprus's earnings from tourism rose 3.5 percent in the first quarter of the year, bolstered by earlier Easter holidays, data showed on Monday.

Tourism, which accounts for 11 percent of gross domestic product, along with real estate, helped push Cyprus into a recession last year, with the economy contracting 1.7 percent.

Revenue from tourism rose to 129.2 million euros in the first three months of the year compared to 124.8 million in the first quarter of 2009. In March alone, earnings rose 14.3 percent year on year to 65.6 million euros.

Arrival figures previously announced by the statistics office showed a 5.6 percent increase in holidaymakers in the first quarter.

An economist noted that 2009 was a low year for tourism and this year Western Easter holidays were earlier than in 2009, coinciding with Orthodox Easter.

"The outlook is rather unclear. We are helped by the value of the euro (against the pound sterling), because half of our tourism flows in from the UK," said economist Stelios Platis.

"But it is a difficult year to predict because Cyprus is lagging behind in its recovery," he said.

Holiday arrivals to Cyprus were down 10.9 percent in 2009 and tourism earnings were 17 percent lower.