Cyprus tourist arrivals fall 5.6% as Koumis presents €59.4 million budget

Nicosia, Cyprus. Tourist arrivals in Cyprus were 5.6 per cent lower in January–September 2026 than a year earlier, Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis told MPs on Friday, a substantial improvement from the sharper decline earlier in 2026. He presented a proposed tourism budget of €59.4 million for 2027 to the House finance committee.

Arrivals recover after early disruption

Koumis said arrivals had recovered significantly after falling 17.9 per cent year-on-year during January–April. Although the January–September total remained below the equivalent 2025 figure, it exceeded the corresponding 2024 and 2023 totals by 4.1 per cent and 8.5 per cent respectively.

He told the committee that external factors had made 2026 exceptionally difficult for tourism, with some describing it as the industry’s toughest period in decades.

“2026 will undoubtedly remain in the history and memory of those working in the sector as a year during which our country’s tourism industry was called upon to face an unprecedented crisis as a result of external factors,” he said.

Cancellations and government response

According to Koumis, cancellations numbered in the tens of thousands during March and April, while new bookings slowed markedly. At certain points, bookings effectively stopped, affecting both imminent travel and trips planned for later in 2026.

He outlined the measures the government had introduced to address the disruption and briefed MPs on how the sector had performed afterwards.

Promotion and tourism development funding

Koumis said approximately 62 per cent of the proposed budget would support destination promotion and improvements to the tourism offering. The funding would cover promotional work, attendance at tourism fairs and incentive programmes.