Foreign visitors are propping up Cyprus’ tourist accommodation sector, according to Eurostat data released on Thursday.
Across the EU, tourist accommodation recorded 1.279 billion overnight stays in the first half of 2025, up 2.3% compared with the same period in 2024 (1.249 billion).
Malta (12.7%), Latvia (8.6%) and Poland (8.5%) posted the largest increases in overnight stays, while Ireland reported a decline (-3.5%). Germany (+0.2%), Sweden (+0.5%) and Belgium (+0.9%) saw the lowest growth rates.
In Cyprus, total overnight stays in tourist accommodation rose by 3.7% in the first half of the year.
Foreigners Drive Growth
Foreign visitors (non-residents from both inside and outside the EU) accounted for nearly half (48.0%) of all overnight stays in the first half of 2025, with wide variations across member states.
The highest shares of foreign overnight stays were recorded in Malta (93.6%), Cyprus (93.1%) and Croatia (87.6%).
In Cyprus, overnight stays by foreign visitors increased by 4%, while those by locals fell by 1.1%.
The data were published ahead of World Tourism Day, marked on September 27.