Britons and Greeks Reviving Cyprus Tourism

A surge in British and Greek tourists ensured visitors to Cyprus rose more than a quarter in March, helping its bailed-out economy battle a three-year recession, official data showed.

Tourism arrivals to Cyprus soared 25.7 percent to 97,479 compared with the same month of 2014, according to the state statistical service.

Arrivals from Britain -- the island's largest tourism market -- leapt 35.5 percent to 41,149, helped by heavy advertising and a weaker euro, which made Cyprus a cheaper destination.

Tourist numbers from Greece spiked 50 percent in March to 10,557, while arrivals from Germany rose 14.6 percent to 7,443.

The figures were partly offset by a 3.4 percent decline in tourists from Russia -- the island's second biggest market -- to 7,855 last month.

For the first three months of 2015, total arrivals jumped 16.2 percent from the same quarter of 2014 to 189,988.

The number of visitors to the tourism-reliant Mediterranean island rose 1.5 percent to 2.44 million in 2014 after recoiling 2.4 percent the previous year.

Improved arrival figures are fanning hopes that the key sector can pull the economy out of recession in 2015.

Cyprus needed a 10 billion euro ($10.9 billion) bailout from international lenders in 2013 to save its banking industry and stop the eurozone member going bankrupt.