Lack of foreign vacations is a key indicator of material deprivation. But nearly half the island can’t afford a holiday abroad
At first glance, the numbers don’t add up. According to CyStat, the overall number of foreign holiday trips taken by Cyprus residents in 2023 totalled a cool 1.26 million. Which, given that the population of the island is 1.25 million, seems odd.
I mean, I didn’t take a holiday. My neighbours didn’t. And most of our office stayed right here on the island, either working through the summer or popping down to Paphos for the weekend.
But then this isn’t the number of people who took a foreign holiday. It’s the number of trips abroad that were taken. Which means some people are taking far more than one holiday a year.
Many of us, however, aren’t. In fact, Cyprus is right up there on the list of European countries whose residents can least afford a foreign vacation. And the reason given is very clear: we simply can’t afford to.
According to Eurostat, being unable to afford a one-week holiday abroad is a key indicator of something called ‘material deprivation’. Along with the struggle to pay rent or bills or handle unforeseen expenses, this inability to pay for a vacation is a significant gauge of financial instability.
Out of 31 European countries, Cyprus falls sixth on this I-can’t-afford-a-foreign-holiday list: nearly 40 per cent of us are, for lack of funds, stuck on the island.
In Austria, Denmark and Holland, 90 per cent of the population is footloose and financially fancy free. In Switzerland, Luxembourg and Norway, 95 per cent of residents enjoy a foreign getaway at least once a year.
Meanwhile, Cyprus sits alongside Bulgaria, Croatia and Poland in its inability to afford an annual holiday abroad, albeit well above Romania (of which 60 per cent cannot afford an annual foreign break). So the dream of jetting off for a week remains just that – a dream.
There’s clearly a huge divide here. While Cyprus welcomes foreign tourists in their droves, and a small proportion of people can afford multiple foreign holidays, two-fifths of us simply sit and watch from the sidelines.
“The last time I took a foreign vacation was in 2018,” says 39-year-old estate agent Zach Mylonas. “My wife and I, newly-married, went to Greece for a week. Then we had kids. Then we had the pandemic. Then our business fell through. Nowadays, a weekend at granny’s in Larnaca is as far as we can afford to go.”
42-year-old yoga instructor Eliana Spanou agrees. “I used to holiday abroad two or three times a year. Flights were cheaper, so was accommodation. Now, getting off the island costs an arm and a leg, and everyone seems to be Airbnb-ing their place in Prague or London for a fortune. I’d have to sell my children to afford either!
“To be honest, I’m considering it,” she jokes. “Somehow, school costs more by the month: private lessons, after-school programmes, personal computers. I can’t afford to leave Cyprus.”
For many younger people, holidays are similarly unattainable suggests 29-year-old social media manager Evi Vassou. “I’m living at home, working three part-time jobs, and I still struggle with everyday expenses. I keep hearing about people my age who are off exploring the world. How?!” she exclaims. “There’s no money for rent, let alone travel.”
Being unable to afford a holiday is not limited to Cypriots. The study looked at all island residents, local or no.
Brian Collins is an IT consultant who married a Cypriot and settled in Nicosia. “I’ve lived all over the world. But I’ve never been poorer than I am living in Cyprus. The only holiday I’ve taken in the last two years was back home to Minnesota. And my family paid my ticket.”
51-year-old Brian admits that the idea of taking a regular holiday is laughable. “I work all hours of the day simply to make ends meet. It’s embarrassing,” he adds, “to be this age and on a salary so low that you can’t even afford a vacation. My wife gets angry; she says we’re not poor. But compared to where I’m from, we are. If I wasn’t married, I would run and never come back. Sure, the sun and sea and safety are great things – but you can’t eat them.”
“Every time I’ve even thought about taking a holiday, something has happened,” says 55-year-old Paphos expat, Lucy Stevenson. “In July 2022, I was going to go to London to see friends. Then my car died, and I had to get a new one – well, a second-hand one. In 2023, I was going to book a week in Italy, but the washing machine packed up, and that was the end of that.
“If you’re on a good salary, if you can save money, then these unexpected expenses don’t hit as hard,” she adds. “But I make just over €1,000 a month. So there’s no holiday if the bills are high or an emergency comes up. And lately, it seems that something always does.”
“In Cyprus, we have the same cost of living as our European counterparts, but much lower salaries,” says social and political analyst Costa Constanti. “So taking a trip costs more ‘per hour worked’ for us.
“Plus, we have limited flight options and pricey and time-consuming connections. And we’re sometimes reluctant to explore lesser-known, cheaper destinations: you don’t hear about Cypriots backpacking or couch surfing; we tend to prefer good hotels or airbnbs, and eat out rather than self-cater. That can get pricey!”
Costa makes a valid point.
Although Cyprus ranks 6th in Europe for an inability to afford a week’s holiday abroad, residents who do travel spend €150 per night on their foreign trips. This places the island 5th overall, slightly below the spend-per-night of Luxembourg, Austria, Estonia and Sweden, but well ahead of the EU average of €117.
However, if there’s one silver lining, it’s that we live on a holiday island. While trips abroad might be out of reach, at least we’ve got the sun, sea and beauty of Cyprus right on our doorstep. For now, that’ll have to do.
Some names have been changed to protect privacy
