Young visitors provide welcome boost

Visitor numbers at restaurants, bars and coffeeshops across Cyprus ranged from 80 per cent to 90 per cent during the Kataklysmos long weekend, according to Neophytos Thrasivoulou, president of the hospitality owners association (Osika).

“This year’s Kataklysmos weekend was one of the best in recent years in terms of footfall at leisure centres,” Thrasivoulou said in comments to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on Wednesday.

“There were high occupancy levels,” he added, expressing hope that “this level of attendance would continue in the coming period”.

“This year’s tourist season is similar to last year’s and is expected to remain at satisfactory levels,” Thrasivoulou he continued.

“Only in this way will it be possible for businesses in the catering industry to survive,” he added.

He further stated that efforts to extend the tourist season must continue “in order for the tourism sector to regain its footing”.

When asked about visitor trends, Thrasivoulou explained that in recent years, hospitality venues with the highest visitor numbers are those frequented by young people rather than older age groups.

“Venues with a sea view are also in high demand,” he concluded.

Cyprus ranks second in EU for foreign tourist overnight stays

Meanwhile, Cyprus recorded the second-highest share of foreign tourist overnight stays in the European Union during the first quarter of 2025, according to data released by Eurostat earlier in June.

“Foreign visitors accounted for 85.7 per cent of all overnight stays in Cyprus between January and March 2025,” the European Commission said in its announcement.

“This places Cyprus just behind Malta, which recorded 91.2 per cent, and ahead of Luxembourg, which reported 80.4 per cent,” they added.

Across the EU, tourist accommodation establishments recorded a total of 452.4 million overnight stays during the first quarter of 2025.

“This marks a slight decline of 0.2 per cent compared with the same quarter of 2024,” the commission explained.

In January, the number of overnight stays across the EU rose by 3.5 per cent to reach 139 million compared with January 2024.

February saw a marginal decrease of 0.8 per cent, with 147.7 million nights recorded. March followed with a more notable drop of 2.7 per cent, falling to 167.7 million overnight stays.

“The slight decreases can be attributed to holidays falling differently in the calendar year,” the commission said.

They explained that this shift affected the timing of school holidays around carnival, which moved from February to March, and Easter, which fell in April this year rather than in March as it did in 2024.

“Foreign guests accounted for approximately 45.6 per cent of all overnight stays in the EU during the first three months of 2025,” the commission said.

The data also revealed wide differences across member states. In contrast to Cyprus and Malta, foreign guests represented only a small fraction of overnight stays in countries such as Poland, where they made up just 18.6 per cent.

Romania and Germany reported similarly low shares at 20.1 per cent and 20.2 per cent respectively.

There was also a divergence in trends between domestic and foreign travellers. “Overnight stays by foreign visitors increased by 1.1 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2024,” the commission said.

“However, overnight stays by domestic tourists fell by 1.3 per cent,” it added.