Cyprus tourism revenue drops by 85.1% in first ten months of 2020

The Cyprus tourism sector marked an 85.1% drop in revenue over the first ten months of 2020, data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (CyStat) on Wednesday show.

Between January and October 2020, revenue from tourism is estimated at €376.3 million compared to €2,533.4 million in the corresponding period of 2019, recording a decrease of 85.1%.

A passenger survey carried out by CyStat showed that tourism revenue in October 2020 reached €77.4 million, a 74.1% drop compared to €299.4 million in October 2019.

Meanwhile, expenditure per person in October 2020 reached €767.66 compared to €685.82 in the corresponding month of the previous year, recording an increase of 11.9%.

Following the decrees issued by the government and the measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease, a ban of entry to Cyprus was imposed on several categories of persons, including tourists, for the period March 15-June 8, 2020.

As of June 9, a gradual easing of the travel restrictions to Cyprus allowed arrivals from specific countries, based on the epidemiological risk categorisation issued by the Ministry of Health.