The increase in June was mainly on a rise in arrivals from all countries excluding the UK and Russia, which rose an annual 58% to 209,369, Cystat said in a statement on its website on Monday. Arrivals from the UK, traditionally the main source of incoming tourism, rose 1.2% to 150,532 while those from Russia rose 2.1% to 129,890.

Arrivals from Israel rose 89% last month to 28,044 compared with June 2016, while those from Sweden, Germany and Greece rose 25% to 21,136, 93% to 18,363, and 9.8% to 18,185 respectively, Cystat said. On the antipode, arrivals from Ukraine and France dropped an annual 28% to 7,382 and 19% to 2,772 respectively.

From January to June, total arrivals rose 17% to 1,463,206 compared to the respective six-month period last year, Cystat said. Arrivals from the UK rose 9.7% in the first half of the year, while those from Russia rose 11% to 332,982.

In June, the share of visitors from the UK and Russia in total arrivals accounted for 32% and 28% compared with 36% and 31%, Cystat said. In the first six months of the year, the share of British and Russian tourists visiting Cyprus shrank to 35% and 23% from 37% and 23% a year before.

In a separate statement, Cystat said that the number of Cypriots who travelled abroad last month rose an annual 9.4% in June to 110,235.

Source: Cyprus Mail