Tourist arrivals in Cyprus increased by 9.5% in February 2026, confirming the positive trend in tourism at the beginning of the year, according to the Statistical Service.
Specifically, arrivals amounted to 146,516 compared to 133,760 in February 2025. At the two-month level, for the period January–February 2026, 268,141 arrivals were recorded, marking a 9.1% increase compared to the 245,860 of the same period last year.
The United Kingdom was the largest market for February, accounting for 19.3% of total arrivals (28,217 visitors), followed by Poland at 18.4% (27,003), Israel at 12.6% (18,530), Greece at 9.3% (13,604), and Germany at 6.6% (9,723).
The increase was particularly strong from individual markets, such as France (+58.7%), Romania (+50.9%), Austria (+45.5%), and Poland (+33.9%), while Greece (+23.9%) also saw a notable rise. In contrast, there was a decline in key markets such as the United Kingdom (-14.8%) and the Netherlands (-16.4%).
As for the purpose of the trip, 61.5% of visitors traveled for vacation, 21.6% to visit friends or relatives, and 16.7% for business reasons. Compared to 2025, there is an increase in leisure travel and visits to relatives, while business travel decreases.
At the same time, there was a significant increase in travel abroad by Cypriots, which reached 152,198 in February 2026, compared to 124,232 in the same month in 2025, marking a 22.5% increase.
The main destinations for Cypriots returning home were Greece, with 30.8% (46,902 trips), the United Kingdom, with 8.1% (12,349), Italy, with 4.2% (6,382), and Poland, with 4.1% (6,287).
As for the purpose of the Cypriots’ trip, the vast majority, at a rate of 78.7%, traveled for vacation, while 19.2% for professional reasons, 1.5% for studies, and 0.6% for other reasons.
The data comes from the Traveler Survey, which is conducted at Larnaca and Paphos airports, as well as from administrative sources, such as arrival data from ports.
