The number of British tourists in Northern Cyprus has decreased by half since 2003

This year, only 8,316 UK tourists visited Northern Cyprus in the first five months, compared to 16,310 in the same period of 2003.

YeniDuzen columnist Cenk Mutluyakali reported these statistics on Thursday, quoting Deputy Minister of Tourism Serhan Aktunç. The report also noted a decline in tourists from Sweden and Denmark compared to the previous year.

In 2023, Northern Cyprus welcomed 7,397 Swedes and 4,689 Danes. However, in the first five months of this year, the numbers dropped to just 442 Swedish and 433 Danish visitors. The number of Greek Cypriots staying overnight in Northern Cyprus hotels has also fallen, with 7,024 using this service since the start of the year, down from 7,525 last year.

Conversely, there has been a significant increase in tourists from Turkey. In the first five months of 2024, 370,520 Turkish visitors came to Northern Cyprus, a substantial rise from 259,770 during the same period in the previous year. Experts mainly link this surge to the casinos in Northern Cyprus.