Arrivals from the U.K., Cyprus’s largest source of incoming tourism, rose 7.2% to 17,329 while in the case of Greece, Israel and France, the increase was 20%, 82% and 150%, to 7,510, 2,844 and 1,880 respectively, Cystat said in a statement on its website today.

Arrivals from Cyprus’s second largest market Russia, which saw its currency devaluate by around 30% vis-à-vis the euro in a year, fell 10% to 3,659, Cystat said.

According to the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism accounts directly or indirectly for a quarter of Cyprus’ economy. The Cyprus Tourism Organisation said that that the 3.8% increase of arrivals in November to February is an indication that “the initiatives, activities and hard work by the CTO in reversing the negative climate and improving the influx of tourists during the winter season has started to pay off.”

A tourism industry expert who spoke said that the reported increase in arrivals may not necessarily reflect a better performance of the tourism industry.

“These figures are not conclusive,” tourism consultant George Michaelides said in a telephone interview. “They refer to arrivalsbut there is no way of knowing just how many of them are actually coming for a holiday”.

Michaelides said that it would be more accurate to compare arrival figures with those of tourists who actually spend their holidays at hotels, as arrival figures alone may not reflect the true picture of the marketing done for Cyprus.

The numbers for Greece may include Greek citizens who live in Cyprus and went to the country to vote, when it held general elections on January 25, and can therefore not be considered tourists in the actual sense, he said adding that U.K. or U.S. American figures may include soldiers stationed in Asian countries.

Cyprus’s tourism industry may benefit from problems plaguing the Turkish tourism sector, Michaelides said.

“Turkey is losing market ground because their services are not as good as before which is a huge benefit for us,” Mihaelides said.

In a separate statement Cystat said that the number of Cyprus residents who travelled abroad in February rose 4.4% to 73,319 compared to the respective month in 2014.

Source: Cyprus Mail