The data released yesterday by the Statistical Service about November arrivals is great news. Market experts expected better numbers than last year, and the final results went beyond what they thought.
Specifically, according to the data from the Statistical Service, tourist arrivals in November 2025 hit 234,580, up from 179,941 in November 2024. That’s a 30.4% increase! For January to November 2025, tourist arrivals reached 4,377,114 compared to 3,907,137 for the same time in 2024, marking a 12.0% increase.
The first takeaway from this data is that the tourist season now extends until the end of November. This may be a small step, but it’s very important as it has been a goal for many years. Now, everyone in the sector, both government and private, needs to build on these results to reach the ultimate goal of year-round tourism. Besides extending the tourist season, hotel workers can have longer jobs, which means the government will spend less on unemployment benefits.
At the same time, businesses will earn more money, and the government will collect more taxes. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Notably, it’s worth mentioning that for the first time as a country and destination we surpassed 200,000 arrivals in November, showing that the tourist season is indeed extending. The Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis welcomed this news, along with breaking the record for arrivals from Germany after 28 years.
On this point, Mr. Koumis shared his belief that “we can achieve even better results this month if we keep destinations open. This now depends on the private sector making smart choices since I believe we’ve done enough as a government to extend the tourist season.”
The Deputy Minister was asked why the German market is so important. He mentioned previous statements, noting that “the German market is not random. It represents Europe’s largest economy,” even though it has shown signs of recession recently. In terms of outbound tourism, it stays consistently among the top three markets worldwide. As a Deputy Ministry of Tourism, we’ve always wanted it to grow even more due to its size and profile. In stock market terms, I’d say it’s significant that after 28 years we broke through the ‘psychological barrier’ of 200,000 visitors which was our best performance since 1997. I hope we achieve even better results next year,” Mr. Koumis added.
The Statistical Service’s data showed that arrivals from the United Kingdom were the top source of tourism for November 2025, making up 22.7% (53,267) of total arrivals. Arrivals from Poland accounted for 13.2% (30,983), from Israel 11.4% (26,816), from Germany 10.4% (24,361), and from Greece 6.0% (13,965).
