Since 2006, I have kept an eye on the Cyprus government statistical website. I have done so to gain a real understanding of the economic situation in Cyprus. The more knowledge I have the better I am prepared for the road ahead. I subscribed to email updates and I find a lot of great resourceful information about a variety of topics.
In the latest email, the theme is “Prices and Inflation” which gives you the latest figures on the “Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices” in Cyprus and the EU. In the same email I also got links to the annual figures of Cyprus tourism including total arrivals, country tourists came from total tourist spending. In a report on prices and inflation, we learn that the EU 27 annual inflation was 0.3% in September 2009, the lowest rates were in Ireland, Portugal, and Estonia in that order. The highest were Romania, Hungary, and Poland.
A more interesting figure that I have been watching is the number of tourist arrivals and what I believe to be one of the most important indicators of the health of the economy in Cyprus. The latest numbers show that in 2009 through the month of September there were 1,754,890 arrivals compared to 1,965,855 in 2008 in the same time period. A total of 210,965 a 10,7% decline and for the first time in years, Cyprus may not reach the 2 million tourist mark after having over 2.4 million over the last 3 years.
With so many businesses in Cyprus depending on tourism for survival it may seem like a depressing scenario like higher unemployment or higher crime rates, however, with all the measures by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation and other agencies I feel that Cyprus will pull through. I tend to believe that in the course of history people will look back at this time as a hiccup or growing pain that Cyprus had to endure in the course of maturation. In a time that everyone was anticipating the best of times by joining the E.U. and its economic strength, it turned out otherwise due to the whole global situation. Even those who understand and forecast economics did not truly see the whole picture right away – who did?? Many adjustments are being made daily as different measures are taken to ensure survival for businesses, families, and individuals. Of course, many will feel hardships, as many have across the world but overall Cyprus is working hard to get through the difficulties to ensure the strength of the island, family unit and further development of the country.
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/index_en/index_en?OpenDocument
