Cyprus tourist numbers continue to grow

Tourist arrivals to Cyprus continued to grow for the second month running in June after a sharp fall in April, official figures showed Wednesday.

Visitor arrivals increased 5.5% year-on-year in June, faster than the 4.7% increase in May, the Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus said. The number of tourists reached 275,280 during the month. In Aprils, arrivals plunged 23%.

Most of the visitors were from the U.K, with arrivals totaling 132,893 during June, posting an increase of 3% from last year. Russia recorded a steep increase of 53.5% annually and the number of visitors from Greece increased 13.3%. On the other hand, there was a decline in visitor arrivals from Sweden and Germany. Since the beginning of the year, arrivals of tourists totaled 877,958, recording a 0.6% decrease from last year.

The International Monetary Fund has urged the government to intensify efforts to reverse its huge deficits as current external risks weigh on the country’s growth prospects. The lender expects the country to return to moderate growth in 2011. Cyprus’ gross domestic product rose 0.1% sequentially in the first quarter, rebounding from 0.3% decline in the fourth quarter.