In 2013, 2.350.576 took their holiday in Cyprus.

On the basis of the results of the Passengers Survey, arrivals of tourists reached 81.437 in November 2014 compared to 81.542 in November 2013, recording a decrease of 0,1%.

Adecrease of 5,1% was recorded in tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom (28.859 in November 2014 compared to 30.413 in November 2013), 25,2% decrease from Russia (8.728 compared to 11.665) and 10,4% decrease from Greece (7.534 compared to 8.411 last year).

Despite the encouraging figure, Russian tourism to Cyprus is expected to drop dramatically next year, in a major blow to the industry.

President of the Association of Cyprus Travel Agents (ACTA) Victor Mantovanis has told the state news agency that all stakeholders in the tourist industry are trying to minimize the impact by offsetting from other markets.

Currently, for the winter, Mantovanis said, outbound tourism from Russia, in general, is about 50-60% less than in the past.

"We estimate that for the summer, under the current circumstances, things will not be much better and that there will be a reduction of around 30-40% for various reasons," he said.

Source: Famagusta Gazette