Total spending for trips of Cypriot residents both in Cyprus and abroad amounted to €2.23 billion in 2023, with 484,365 residents carrying a trip, marking an increase of 8.4% year on year.

According to the Survey on the trips of residents for 2023, carried out by the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat), during 2023, 484,365 residents of Cyprus participated in at least one domestic or/and outbound trip that included a minimum of one overnight stay for personal purposes, recording an increase of 8.4% compared to 2022, during which a total of 446,633 persons have travelled domestically or abroad.

Residents participating only in domestic trips decreased by 6.6% in 2023, reaching 150,751 compared to 161,489 in 2022.

The number of residents participating only in outbound trips amounted to 175,825, showing an increase of 11.1% compared to 158,294 residents who travelled abroad in 2022.

Additionally, 157,789 persons participated in both domestic and outbound trips in 2023, recording an increase of 24.4% compared to 2022.

Domestic trips down by 7.4%

According to Cystat, the number of domestic trips decreased by 7.4%, from 1,689,154 trips recorded in 2022 to 1,564,359 in 2023. A share of 98.1% of domestic trips were taken for personal purposes (i.e. leisure, recreation and holidays, visiting relatives and friends, health reasons, pilgrimage, etc.) and 1.9% for professional purposes.

Rented accommodation such as hotels and similar establishments, campsites, hostels, etc., constituted the main type of stay for 54.2% of the trips, while non-rented accommodation (i.e. own home, staying with relatives or friends, etc.) accounted for 45.8%.

Trips abroad up by 36%

According to the survey, the number of trips abroad in 2023 reached 1,674,725 compared to 1,234,615 in 2022, recording an increase of 35.6%. A percentage of 85.7% of these trips were conducted for personal purposes while 14.3% for professional purposes.  

A share of 70% of outbound trips had rented accommodation as their main type of stay, while 30% had non-rented accommodation as their main type of stay.

Spending for Trips

Expenditure for domestic trips reached €292.9 million in 2023, recording an increase of 9.9% compared to2022.

Expenditure on food and drinks in cafes and restaurants comprised the largest share of total expenditure for domestic trips (40.1%), while accommodation spending accounted for 35.4%.

Transportation costs accounted for 10.1% of total expenditure and expenditure on other goods or services for 14.4%.

Expenditure for outbound trips amounted to €1,940,2 mn in 2023, recording an increase of 39.1% compared to 2022.

 Expenditure on transport comprised the largest share of total expenditure, with a percentage of 35.7%, while smaller percentages corresponded to expenditure on accommodation (24.0%), food and drinks in cafes and restaurants (23.1%) and other goods or services (17.2%), Cystat added.