According to the Statistical Service of Cyprus, tourist arrivals were only about 20% of what they were in 2019 in August. The data shows that 104,261 visited the island in August 2020 compared to 553,845 in August 2019, which is a decrease of 81.2%.
Furthermore, from January through August 2020, arrivals of tourists totaled 424,850 compared to 2,735,839 in the corresponding period of 2019, recording a drop of 84.5%.
This decline was in part because of a ban on arrivals dating from March 2020 imposed as part of the measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in Cyprus. A gradual easing of restrictions since early June allowed a trickle of visitors to Cprus in certain categories.
Several weeks ago Cyprus media reported that revenues from tourism had all but halted in the wake of COVID-19 regulations in place. In the first six months of the year, tourism revenue was only €122 million compared with around €1 billion in 2019, an 87.8 per cent drop, according to data released by the national statistical service (Cystat).
Tourist arrivals for July were even worse than August’s figures according to financial reports. Things were so bad that Cyprus officials earmarked €270 million euro in support programs to for entrepreneurship, industry and energy-saving. Experts now say it will take at least two years for the island to recover.