NICOSIA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Tourism, the steam engine that pulled Cyprus's economy out of 2013 misery and continues to drive growth, went up by 7.8 percent in 2018, according to data announced by the Statistical Service (Cystat) on Friday.
A Cystat statement said that from January to December last year, a total of 3,939,000 tourists visited the eastern Mediterranean island. Tourist arrivals in 2017 stood at 3,652,000.
It added that the 2018 tourist figures were the highest ever in history.
The country saw an increase in arrivals from Britain, a main tourist market, and also from Greece, the second largest tourism source for Cyprus.
Tourism was the main economic sector which helped Cypriot economy to grow by an estimated 4.0 percent in 2018 and is expected to help it grow by as much this year, according to projections of the EU and the Cypriot side.
Projections said that tourism is expected to expand by between 7 and 8 percent in 2019, driving arrivals well above the 4 million mark.
