Cyprus tourist arrivals fell 4.9% in May, the Statistical Service said on Wednesday, marking a third consecutive month of decline, though the rate of decline continued to narrow while arrivals from Israel rose sharply.
Tourist arrivals in May 2026 totalled 455,680, down from 479,160 in May 2025, according to the Statistical Service. For the January-May 2026 period, arrivals totalled 1,166,050, down from 1,344,486 in the same period of 2025, a decrease of 13.3%.
The United Kingdom was the largest source market for May 2026, accounting for 36.3% (165,600) of total arrivals, the Statistical Service said. It was followed by Israel at 11.8% (53,649), Poland at 8.2% (37,307), Germany at 6.3% (28,546) and Sweden at 4.9% (22,111) of total arrivals.
Arrivals from Israel have risen sharply in recent months, according to Statistical Service data. Cyprus recorded 1,537 tourists from Israel in March 2026, the month in which the drone incident at the British Bases occurred, compared with 28,353 in March 2025. Arrivals from Israel rose to 15,997 in April and to 53,649 in May, surpassing the equivalent month of 2025. Total arrivals had fallen by 30.7% in March and 27.6% in April.
In a written statement, Deputy Minister of Tourism Costas Koumis said the May figures point to a gradual recovery in the tourism sector, with arrivals returning to “a stable trajectory” after the impact of events in March and the following weeks.
Koumis said the government and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism had faced an “unprecedented negative situation, perhaps the most difficult in recent decades” other than the pandemic period, citing the impact of geopolitical tensions as well as discussion over a shortage of aviation fuel. He said the priority had been to safeguard the country’s air connectivity, its long-standing partnerships with strategic partners and, above all, its reputation as a safe and competitive tourist destination.
Koumis said that over the past three months, the ministry had focused on protecting Cyprus’s international reputation as a tourist destination, including enhanced online promotional campaigns in 27 countries, hosting foreign journalists and influencers, and a series of meetings and presentations abroad. He said the ministry would continue its efforts “with undiminished intensity” to achieve the best possible results for the second half of the year, while also beginning preparations for 2027.