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Welcome to Holidays on Cyprus

Holidays on Cyprus - Tourism in Cyprus

Tourism occupies a dominant position in the economy of Cyprus.

THis website is intended to deliver unbiased information and opinion from a variety of sources - helping you with your decisions about visiting Cyprus as a holiday destination.

In recent years tourism in Cyprus is contributing over 10% of the Cypriot GDP.

Total employment, dependant upon tourism in Cyprus, has been estimated at well over 100,000 jobs, making it around 30% of total employment - over 1 in every 3 jobs.

Cyprus became a full member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) when the organisation was created in 1975. The UNWTO is a specialized agency of the United ‎Nations and the leading international organization in the field of tourism. It serves as a ‎global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how.‎

UNWTO plays a central and decisive role in promoting the development of responsible, ‎sustainable and universally accessible tourism, paying particular attention to the ‎interests of developing countries like Cyprus.‎

According to the World Economic Forum's recent Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Cyprus' tourism industry ranks 20th in the world in terms of overall competitiveness. In terms of Human, Cultural and Natural Resources, in relation to the tourism industry, Cyprus ranks 3rd in the world.

There are around 2.5 million tourist arrivals each year now with the highest percentages arrivals by % of total from: Britain (around 60%), Germany (around 7%), Greece (around 6%), Russia (around 5%) and Sweden (around 4%) - rest of the world just 18% !

Clean beaches are a major attraction to foreign tourists.

Much of the tourist industry relies upon these clean beaches to attract foreign tourists. This reflects in the seasonal distribution of tourist arrivals with a disproportionate number arriving during the summer months. Recently Cyprus has provided incentives for the development of winter and all year round tourism such as in the form of nature, golf and activity holidays. Marinas and casinos are being developed to add to the tourist attractions of the island.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation

The CTO has a status of a semi-governmental organisation charged with overseeing the industry practices and promoting the island as a tourism destination abroad. In 2007 the CTO spent a reported €20 million on promotion.