Cyprus recorded the third-highest tourism intensity in the European Union in 2025, with an average of 19.4 nights spent in tourist accommodation per resident, according to Eurostat. The figures underline the island’s dependence on tourism relative to its population, even as total arrivals in 2026 remain below last year’s levels.
Croatia ranked first with 24.5 nights per inhabitant, followed by Malta with 21.7. Greece recorded 15.1 nights and Austria 14.6, while the EU average stood at 7.0 nights per resident, up from 6.7 in 2024.
Romania recorded the lowest tourism intensity at 1.6 nights per inhabitant, followed by Latvia at 2.7, and Poland and Slovakia at 2.9 each.
EU tourist accommodation nights rise to 3.1 billion
The EU recorded approximately 3.1 billion overnight stays in tourist accommodation establishments in 2025, an increase of 4.1% compared with 2024. The total was 26.5% higher than in 2015, when the bloc recorded 2.5 billion nights.
Domestic tourists and visitors from other EU countries accounted for 80.9% of overnight stays, or approximately 2.5 billion nights. Visitors from other European countries accounted for a further 10.4%.
Tourists from the Americas accounted for 4.9% of overnight stays, equivalent to 155.5 million nights. Visitors from Asia represented 2.6%, or 81.6 million nights, while those from Oceania accounted for 0.5% and visitors from Africa for 0.4%.
Visitors from Asia recorded the strongest annual growth between 2024 and 2025, with overnight stays rising by 15.4%. Stays by visitors from Africa increased by 13.7%.
Over the decade to 2025, overnight stays by tourists from the Americas more than doubled, rising by 101.9% from nearly 77 million.
Tourism intensity measures the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation relative to a country’s permanent population. It offers an indication of how significant tourism activity is compared with the size of the resident population.
Cyprus tourism arrivals reach a September record
Cyprus welcomed 580,889 tourists in September 2026, the highest September figure on record, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat). Arrivals rose by 1.8% compared with September 2025.
Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis attributed the increase to stronger arrivals from several key markets. Israel recorded the largest rise among those highlighted, at 31.4%, followed by Greece at 16.1% and the United Kingdom at 2.8%.
The gains helped offset declines in arrivals from other European markets.
However, the September record has not yet translated into annual growth. Tourist arrivals between January and September totalled 3,401,538, down 5.6% compared with the same period in 2025.
Tourism recovery continues, but the annual gap remains
The latest figures suggest that tourism is showing signs of recovery after geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East affected travel patterns earlier in the year.
September’s record arrivals and the improvement in several important source markets indicate that demand remains strong. Nevertheless, the cumulative decline for the first nine months shows that the sector has not fully recovered the ground lost earlier in 2026.
The combination of high tourism intensity and lower year-to-date arrivals highlights two sides of the sector: tourism plays a particularly large role relative to Cyprus’ population, but its performance remains sensitive to changes in visitor demand and conditions in key markets.
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