Cyprus is the champion in wedding tourism, with over 10,000 civil marriages held so far in 2016.

The particularly promising upward trend followed by the wedding tourism in Cyprus in recent years. Indeed, amongst EU Member States, Cyprus is considered as the most popular wedding destination, with enviable performance. The last three years the wedding ceremonies of foreign tourists in our country have significantly exceeded 8,000, and this year, he said the “F” well-informed source, it is estimated that there are all the conditions to overcome the barrier of 10,000 ceremonies annually, political and religious.

8.5% of our tourist arrivals can be attributed to wedding tourism, but the fact that one in two Britons choosing to marry abroad do so in Cyprus, says on its lot. Extremely high is the percentage of Lebanese residents who choose Cyprus for wedding tourism. From all of this specialized outbound tourism from Lebanon, 80% choose Cyprus. Cyprus as a wedding destination is also very popular among Russians, as well as Israeli tourists.

In the rapidly developing field of wedding tourism in Cyprus, dominant position, with 50% of the total, holds the British market with top preference Paphos. According to official data released by the Cyprus Tourist Organisation from 8,000 marriage ceremonies were performed in 2014 in Cyprus, 4,000 were British citizens, who have the first choice Paphos second free Famagusta. Throughout the wedding tourism, regardless of the nationality of the newlyweds, the lead held again Paphos and Larnaca below.

According to data from the municipal authorities, in 2014 took place about 8,000 marriages. First in marriages was the Paphos with 31% followed by 28% Larnaca and Famagusta with 25%. Lower numbers show the Limassol (9%) and Nicosia (7%).

The reasons that marriages abroad are becoming more popular is because couples wishing to combine their wedding and honeymoon with something different and with good weather. An important factor is also the cost. In the UK the average cost of a wedding is £21,939, while abroad the ceremony costs £7,000-8,000.

It is worth noting that following the recommendation of the Ombudsman, the amendment of the Marriage Law has begun to institutionalize the celebration of weddings and tourists in places outside City Hall, such as in hotels, beaches, castles, wineries, boats, etc. in order to further develop wedding tourism.