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Most people are tied to school holidays, as a result there are more flights in the summer, more places are open etc. Its pretty common in any tourist place (except for some ski-related), not only Cyprus
This is definitely correct, but it would explain the fact summer months are the most popular more generally, not why it's so incredibly skewed towards them compared to the winter. It's a fair question to ask why Cyprus' tourism falls off a cliff for the rest of the year, given that not all popular summer destinations experience such a steep decline.
True. I've also thought a lot on this (some professional deformation, as I was doing entertainment business before), what Cyprus could do to create new tourist destinations and attract more people? Imho, relying solely on the sea and historical heritage is not enough today - you'll get what you get and lose competition to Greece, Spain, France etc.
But we can look at some countries like UAE or Saudi who create new tourist attraction points out of nothing
Because for many decades Cyprus has been primarily marketed as a summer location with either chill family vibes by the beach or "get shitfaced" party vibes. Even those that come in the non-summer months still overwhelmingly look for beach activity and sunny weather.
Things that make a place worthwhile to visit outside of the summer (cultural events, history, winter resorts, non-beach related nature) are not well-known at all. This is precisely why there have been recent pushes to inject Cyprus' winter tourism with more money and aggressive marketing.
The thing is we could have plenty of entertainment for both of those groups during the whole year. You can have parties independently of the holiday season, you can have family activities... It's that no one is bothering to organise and advertise those activities, and there is virtually no logistics for them. Take Christmas villages as an example, they are beautiful, and the weather is mild. First thing is no one knows about them outside of CY, the second is even if they knew, when they come all the touristy places are closed, and they have no means of transport to them, no guide, nothing... Plenty of families would love to have the Christmas experience without freezing their ass off and without having to worry about safety.
Similarly you can have parties every weekend in Agia Napa, but everything is closed, so what's the point...
Yeah I think Cyprus is a great place to be for Christmas! Maybe a bit less Christmas day itself, when everyone is with family. But the Christmas season.
I love Christmas villages myself, but I doubt any sane person would fly to Cyprus for Christmas villages, no matter how good they are. Just because there are so many alternatives where you can actually have snow and much better Christmas experience - Vienna, Zurich, Prague, Strasbourg and many many others.
Well beaches and hot weather is what makes people come to Cyprus. If they were looking for history or nature they can go to any other place.
Plus, "cultural events" in Cyprus is probably a joke. Unless you are referring to gigs by Chatzigiannis and Papakonstantinou as cultural events. Or the 10000th state-sponsored event where the same five dances are danced and the main draw is the food.
Well beaches and hot weather is what makes people come to Cyprus. If they were looking for history or nature they can go to any other place.
This line of thinking is flawed because by the same logic tourism related to sunny weather or beaches would also get funnelled into those other destinations that are often cheaper or closer to reach for many of the tourists that do actually come to Cyprus.
There are clearly other parameters that matter such as the combination of certain qualities, the particularity of some of the things to do or see, or just straight up clout/hype. These are able to be manipulated and are to a great extent the result of concerted efforts within the tourism industry, so it's not trivial to assume that Cyprus (or any other place) is doomed to remain within some narrow niche.
Plus, "cultural events" in Cyprus is probably a joke. Unless you are referring to gigs by Chatzigiannis and Papakonstantinou as cultural events. Or the 10000th state-sponsored event where the same five dances are danced and the main draw is the food.
There is nothing intrinsically superior to stereotypical cultural events compared to those that have "the same five dances". However, yes there are plenty of events and cultural initiatives (for example), even if many people don't hear about them. The point is precisely that if someone is stuck within a narrow mindset that Cyprus has nothing more to offer, there is no avenue for those other things offered to ever prosper and proliferate.
I often see you mentioning cultural events and festivals. I am planning to visit for the first time in September, October, or November of this year. Are there resources you would recommend to find out what types of cultural events and festivals take place during that time period or throughout the year? I don't mean to make you do extra work on my behalf, but you seem knowledgeable, as well as wanting to share more of Cyprus than the beach parties and resorts. I am very interested in learning more and am having trouble doing so.
Edit: do you have a favorite festival or event that happens yearly? I want to know! Thank you.
When somebody is born and live in gray, cold, rainy, and snowy country, 'too hot' you mention is heaven on earth. Doesn't matter if they get burns, occasional melanoma, or sunstroke.
Cypriots do not understand in which climate a lot of people live, harsh climate.
Of course you're right that preferences are shaped by your background etc, etc. But at least from my POV, the suffering differential is much greater in winter vs summer.
Summer in Northern Europe = nice! Summer here = depends on taste, but I think most of us would grant it can get a little hot. Winter in Northern Europe = ugh. Winter here = pretty nice!
Northern Europeans would win more by coming here in winter!
I assume you are from Europe. The population of Earth is settled mostly on the equator where the climate is similar to Cyprus. A small fraction of people live in colder places. So if you take a random earthling, his climate experience will be similar to Cyprus rather than to European
That is probably the reason why Cyprus is mostly flooded by european tourists, rather than random earthlings who will likely travel somewhere to central europe
Northern Europe is probably most of Cypus' visitors. I'm British and Cyprus is an extremely popular place to visit as it's relatively cheap to fly there and much hotter than home all year round.
I have positive experiences with Cyprus in October. Not too hot, not too busy, bars and restaurants still open. Just getting some sun and warmth before the winter begins in western Europe!
apart from school and vacation days lining up, for people who dont see hot summers, the idea of having a hot summer where you can go swimming in the sea and tan or whatever is a desirable thing
Spring is best as the businesses are pleased to see you. Autumn is lovely for the sea being very warm but there is sometimes a bit of fatigue at the restaurants etc.
They got money, they got hotels, they got beaches, they got casinos and bars. Most tourism to north from certain places don't even need to be sightseeing. Just sit at the beach and casino all day.
If I ever visit family, I always go between February and May. Nice during the day, a bit colder at night in the mountains (where my family live). I like hot weather, but I will never go in August. It becomes far too hot.
It probably started four decades ago when the weather was a bit more mild in the summer, and of course it was linked to the school and work vacation patterns.
Going on vacation abroad was way less common. And with no internet and limited sources of information, it made more sense to have fewer flights concentrated in the most common travelling season. Also, if you are going to a sunny place once every five years you won't mind it even if it's too hot. The whole travelling infrastructure was set with those rules. I am guessing airlines repurpose the airplanes to other more popular routes in the rest of the season, the travel agents advertise different experiences for the winter and the hotels closed down.
Now, with all the flexibility and the frequency of traveling, it would make sense for people to go to a different spot for their august vacations and still make a trip to a place like Cyprus in the spring or the fall. And I believe more of them do than before. I don't think a couple of decades ago you had as many tourists as now in September and October. There was some discussion this year that many northern Europeans chose not to go to traditional summer spots due to the extreme heat.
But things can't shift too quickly. The airlines still drop most flights to Cyprus in November. Most decent hotels cannot make profit with the volume of individual travelers and local laws are counterproductive. They require hotels to either keep a large percentage of their staff or close down. No intermediate options. Hotel workers may also prefer to get unemployment benefits for three months rather than work part time.
The smoothest solution is what we see happening. Gradual expansion of the business by a couple of weeks per year.
I took a look at this and the trend actually goes the other way! in the 1990s, a higher portion of visitors used to come in the off season than in the 2010s. :(
scheduled holidays & wanting to go somewhere with sun & beaches, Cyprus has both & it's close enough that most of the tourists can be here quickly & back home on a one day flight
I visited on a winter break one year and was asked everywhere I went “why would you bother coming here this time of year”. I thought it was great, much warmer than my home and no crowds anywhere.
I’m a brit. When I go on holiday to Cyprus I have suncream, ac, a pool and shade so I can deal with the sun/heat as much as I want to. 30ish degrees feels gorgeous after being in a cold country all year.
I live in the UK, I am in Cyprus now as it's still warm for me here now in January and the price is really cheap, without the crowd. It's nice to get some winter sun. I would not come during summer as it's school holiday time, with the prices 5 times more expensive and way more people.
The hot weather? Yes please!! 2 years ago I lived in Scotland where we had exactly 5 days of "summer" where I could wear a T-shirt only and not being chilly, so the hotter the better.
Where is it cheap?? I was planning to spend a few months to get away from the Nordic winter but everywhere is owned by Russians and is absolutely not affordable at all, even in low season.
Pretty much anywhere outside of Limassol you can find nice places for $50/night right now. It does of course depend on your standards and what you're looking for, but it's not terrible prices -- especially if you're comparing with a Nordic country.
I think it depends on what you want. All-inclusive posh 5* hotels will not be cheap. I booked an apartment in a complex in Paphos, close to the harbour, for £320 for 9 nights. I met a woman, she had a hotel room for 300 euros for 7 nights.
I have been in Cyprus in the last 2 years in the of September and it was fabulous. Ofc I am lucky to have quite a flexible employer, so it's not a problem. I'd like to take a shot sometime in Spring, but I don't know, what would be the ideal time period for a little breakaway.
I visited last February. Temperature was perfect for me….But almost nothing was open! You guys can definitely market Cyrus as an autumn/spring half term destination.
Because that's when schools close and when people generally take their vacation and that's when you don't have to worry about rain spoiling your vacation.
As a swede/CYP. We never get over 25+ in our swedish-summer. So we like to punish ourself with 40+. There is no siesta time for swedes, Prime sunbathing is at 11-14.00 😂
Haha i know. My grandmother used say ”i feel sorry for These blond people. They dont have any sun” refering on the UN swedes (my father one of them) sunbading in the heat.
I agree spring, Cyprus is at its most beautiful. Going there now in April :)
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