‘2017 already record year for tourist arrivals’

NICOSIA: Cyprus has smashed its record for annual tourist arrivals with two months to spare, with the total reaching 3.4 million at the end of October, official figures showed on Friday.
The eastern Mediterranean island has benefited from its reputation as a regional safe haven as unrest has hit the tourism sectors of its traditional competitors Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey. Arrivals in the first 10 months already comfortably exceeded the record 3.18 million registered in the whole of 2016.
Cyprus has benefited from a boom in visitors from its largest market, Britain -- up nearly eight percent for January-October -- along with a revival in those coming from Germany (up 60 percent), second largest market Russia (up 5.2 percent) and Israel (up 80.8 percent).
The surge has helped Cyprus return to growth following a 10-billion-euro bailout to rescue its crumbling economy and insolvent banks in March 2013. Income from tourism accounts for about 12% of the country’s gross domestic product and is credited with underpinning a quick recovery.