Cyprus tourism diversification wins international recognition, Koumis says

Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus’ success in replacing lost Russian visitors by opening new tourism markets has received international recognition, Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis said.

He cited a joint report by Oxford Economics and global tourism platform TOURISE that identifies Cyprus as a leading example of tourism resilience and market diversification.

Report findings

Speaking at the opening of an international development seminar in Nicosia this week, Koumis referred to the report, entitled “Resilience in a World That Doesn’t Reset”.

The report examines 85 major tourism crises over the past 25 years and identifies diversification as one of the strongest safeguards against disruption.

In Cyprus’ case, it documents the island’s response to the loss of the Russian market following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while highlighting the tourism sector’s performance in 2024 and 2025.

Market diversification

Russia accounted for more than 27 per cent of tourist arrivals to Cyprus before 2022, but its share had fallen to 1 per cent by 2025. Over the same period, Cyprus expanded into other European markets, with Poland’s share rising from 2 per cent to 9 per cent.

Koumis said the findings reflected the government’s approach in recent years.

“For us, resilience is not a theoretical concept, it is an integral part of our tourism planning,” he said in his opening address.

He said that after losing the large Russian market in 2022, Cyprus sought to replace demand by developing several geographical markets and strengthening air connectivity.

Tourism demand and EU presidency

Koumis said Cyprus had returned to high tourism demand in 2026, following the sharp disruption caused by the Middle East conflict in March.

He also referred to measures advanced during Cyprus’ Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2026, which placed particular emphasis on sustainable tourism development.