Cyprus tourism starts the year in the doldrums

Cyprus tourism started the year in the doldrums, with total arrivals falling by 3.3% compared with the same period of the previous year to reach 44,442 in January 2011 compared with 45,952 in January 2010.
The main reason was a drop of14.0% in tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom (15,292 in January 2011 compared with 17,788 in January 2010).
There was also a 2.5% decrease in arrivals from Greece (7,286 compared with 7,470 in the same month of 2010).
On a positive note, there was a 29.9% increase in arrivals from Russia, the second biggest market, from 2,982 to 3,873, and a 1.1% increase in arrivals from Germany (from 4,083 in January 2010 to 4,128 in January 2011).
In 2010 tourism arrivals rose by just 1.5% compared with 2009.