A total of 14,8 million overnight stays were made by tourists and Cypriots in Cypriot hotels and other tourist accommodation during 2016, an increase of 10,9% from 2015 according to Eurostat.
Of the 14,8 million overnight stays, more than 14 million have been made by tourists and other non-residents, an increase of 12% since 2015. This is the fourth largest increase in the EU.
In 2016, the number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation in the European Union (EU) is expected to reach over 2,8 billion, an increase of 2,0% compared to 2015. Since 2009, there has been a steady increase in the number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation in the EU, mainly due to the increase in overnight stays by non-residents in the Member States. In 2016, Spain (with 454 million overnight stays, + 7,8% compared to 2015) took first place, ahead of France (with 395 million, -4,6%) and Italy (395 million, + 0,5%), Germany (390 million, + 2,8%) and the United Kingdom (292 million, -4,5%).
The number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation in 2016 increased in almost all Member States for which data are available, with the largest increases in Bulgaria (+ 17,9%) and Slovakia (+ 16,0%), Poland ( 11,8%) and Cyprus (+ 10,9%).
In contrast, the only significant reductions were recorded in France (-4,6%, or 19 million overnight stays) and the United Kingdom (-4,5%, or almost 14 million overnight stays).
In the EU, the number of overnight stays in non-resident tourist accommodation increased at a faster rate (+ 3,6%) between 2015 and 2016 compared to overnight stays in Member States (+ 0,6%).
Almost every EU Member State has seen an increase in the number of tourist overnight stays by non-residents. A notable exception is France, where that number fell by 8,7% (or almost 12 million overnight stays).
In absolute numbers, Spain (294 million overnight stays, or 22% of total non-resident overnight stays in the EU), Italy (196 million, or 15%), France (122 million, or 9%) and the United Kingdom (120 million or 9%) recorded the largest number of overnight stays by non-residents in tourist accommodation facilities.
Source: KYPE