Greece and the United Kingdom were the leading travel destinations for Cyprus residents in 2024, according to data released by Eurostat.

According to figures published on Tuesday regarding Europeans’ travel habits, residents of Cyprus made a total of 3.3 million trips, accounting for 18 million overnight stays and total expenditure of €2.4 billion. Of these trips, 51.9% were made abroad, representing 73.4% of total overnight stays and 87.3% of total travel expenditure.

Based on selected destinations, Greece ranks first in terms of the number of trips, accounting for 34.7% of all trips, 26.2% of overnight stays, and 26% of total travel expenditure. It is followed by the United Kingdom, which accounted for 10.5% of all outbound trips, 15.3% of overnight stays, and 11.6% of travel expenditure.

Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands follow in terms of the number of trips, while Bulgaria, the United States, and Romania rank next in terms of overnight stays. Regarding travel expenditure, Italy, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates follow Greece and the United Kingdom.

Overall, in 2024, the average duration of a trip for an EU resident was five overnight stays: an average of four nights for domestic trips and eight nights for trips abroad.

Nearly three out of four trips made by EU residents in 2024 took place within their country of residence.

EU residents spent a total of €618 billion on tourism trips in 2024, averaging €518 per person per trip.

On average across the EU, 29% of all trips were made to a foreign country: 21% to another EU country and 8% outside the EU.

Italy and Spain were the top foreign destinations for EU residents in 2024. Italy ranked first in terms of the number of trips, accounting for 10.7% of all outbound trips made by Europeans, followed closely by Spain with 10.4%.

In terms of overnight stays and travel expenditure, Spain ranked first, with 11.7% of overnight stays and 11.1% of expenditure, followed by Italy with 10.2% and 9.7%, respectively.

Italy was the main destination for 36.3% of all outbound trips by Malta residents, as well as for the majority of outbound trips made by Romanians (19.3%), Italians (18.4%), Greeks (14.4%), and Germans (13.8%). French, Italian, and Portuguese tourists made more outbound trips to Spain, accounting for 17.3%, 16.3%, and 39.5%, respectively.

Regarding destinations outside the EU, these accounted for approximately 8% of all tourism trips, with the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Switzerland ranking as the top three destinations.

Destinations outside the European continent represented just 13.1% of all outbound trips, broken down as 4.5% to Africa, 4.2% to Asia, and 4.1% to the Americas.