Cyprus tourism sector analysis for 2026

During the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Cyprus Travel and Tourism Agents (ACTTA) held in Nicosia on Thursday, October 8, 2026, industry leaders reviewed the country's tourism performance. ACTTA President Charis Papacharalampous and Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis reported that total tourism arrivals saw a 7% decline. Markets from Israel and the United Kingdom currently account for approximately 50% of all tourist arrivals to Cyprus this year.

Data for the first half of 2026 indicates a 10% decrease in arrivals from European countries, with the United Kingdom market specifically exceeding a 10% decline. Furthermore, targeted markets such as France and Italy experienced significant drops of 36.5% and 33.5% respectively. Despite these losses, the Israeli market has shown impressive growth, particularly over the last 3 to 4 months, effectively bridging the gap created by other market downturns.

Looking ahead, Papacharalampous projects that the Israeli market will contribute between 650,000 and 700,000 arrivals by the end of the year. Officials characterized the overall 7% contraction as a manageable figure given the challenging international landscape and shifting travel trends observed throughout the first two quarters of 2026.