The onset of foreign tourists in the Cyprus property market has changed the structure of the island’s tourist industry. According to CYSTAT data released on Tuesday, 1 of 20 (5.5%) tourists that visited the island in January-September 2004 stayed in self-owned houses. Although no comparative data were published in 2003, 103 thousand tourists said that they have spent their holidays in their self-owned homes. 35.7% of the 103 thousand stayed in their self-owned homes in Paphos, 19% have houses in Larnaca and 18% in Limassol.

44.7% of the tourists that visit the free areas of the Republic stay in luxury hotels. Stays in luxury hotels stand at 38.9% in Paphos and 19.7% in Limassol.

1 of 4 tourists stays in apartments and tourist villages. 27.4% stay in apartments, most of them in Paralimni (32.1%) and Ayia Napa (26.5%).

It is worth noting that 1 of 10 tourists (10.6%) stay in relatives or friends, with Limassol (23.4%) and Larnaca (20.5%) ranking first in this category.

Where tourists spend their holidays?

For the first nine months of 2004, 1.9 million tourists visited the island (+2.9% compared to the corresponding period of 2003). According to the Statistics’ Service, 2 of 6 tourists stayed in Paphos (32.4%), 1 of 6 in Paralimni (17%), Ayia Napa (16.1%) and Limassol (16.1%) and only 9.1% spent their holidays in Larnaca.