Tourist arrivals to Cyprus went up by 61% during the first quarter of 2023, reaching 393,893, compared to 244,705 in the corresponding period of 2022, according to data published by the Cyprus Statistical Service on Tuesday.

The upward trend recorded in the first two months of the year continued in March as well, with 184,263 arrivals recorded, compared to 128,840 in March 2022, observing an increase of 43%.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom were the main source of tourism for March 2023, with a share of 33.8% of total arrivals, or 62,282 tourists, followed by Israel with 12.4% or 22,813, Greece with 8.2% or 15,122, Poland with 7.6% or 14,049 and Germany with 7% or 12,864.

The purpose of the trip for 71.6% of arrivals in March 2023 was holidays, for 14.9% visit to friends and relatives and for 13.3% business. Respectively, in March 2022, 71.9% of passengers visited Cyprus for holidays, 16.3% visited friends or relatives and 11.8% visited Cyprus for business reasons.

Additionally, a total number of 113,805 residents of Cyprus returned from a trip abroad in March 2023 compared to 59,918 in the corresponding month last year, recording an increase of 89.9%. The main countries from which residents of Cyprus returned in March 2023 were Greece with a share of 30.3% or 34,455, the United Kingdom with 14.4% or 16,386, Bulgaria with 4% or 4,527 and Italy with 3.5% or 3,959.