Cyprus has been called an open museum by visitors and students of history due to its richness of relics and monuments from all ages of history. The island has been in the focus of interest of visitors, seafarers and colonist traders since the dawn of history in the region. It hosts  signs of organized social life dating back to the 8th millennium B.C. while in the years that followed, civilizations and cultures from nearby and even more distant centers passed through the island leaving behind their marks in monuments and relics.

Parallel to the wealth of signs from antiquity the island is also presenting a face of a highly advanced modern country, comparing favorably with areas around it and complying with modern esthetic and technological criteria. The old and new are side by side, in an amicable combination of ancient sites with modern hotel and catering establishments leaving nothing to be desired by the visitor and vacationer.

The main feature of the qualities of Cyprus which has established the island among the major tourist centers is the hospitality of its people. Their open heart to visitors and the readiness to go to ends in helping them has given to Cyprus the characteristic of the country of hospitality which has been trade marked by Shakespeare in Othello, the drama which takes place in Cyprus and in which the visitor is received with the phrase "You are Welcome Sir in Cyprus". References to Cyprus and its hospitable character date back to ancient times with the Greek writers Homer and Euripides and Roman historian Strabo making special mention.

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardenia. It is situated in the eastern Mediterranean at the crossroads of three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa, with a coastline of 1364 km interspersed with long sandy beaches and small unspoilt coves.

The terrain offers a varied and never tiring surroundings with a central plain among the two main mountain ranges which with their high peaks and pleasant forested valleys of a big variety of vegetation complement the lowlands and the sandy coastal areas.

Cyprus has a population of 854,300 of whom 652,200 are Greek Cypriots, 110,200 Turkish Cypriots and other minorities. Greek is the main language of the Greek Cypriot population and Turkish of the Turkish Cypriots but English is widely spoken while other European languages are also used mostly in hotels and many shops and catering establishments.

In the first half of the 20th century Cyprus was popular for summer vacationers, mainly from the broader region, but the island's tourism has had a spectacular rise in the second half of the century getting its share from the world tourism upsurge.

Tourist arrivals to Cyprus vary from one season to the other both as regards totals and as regards ages and preferences. The high season is between July and September with noteworthy traffic also between April and June as well as between October and December.    The lowest is between January and March though winter tourism is in an upward trend.

The summer months attract all ages of visitors while autumn, early spring and winter are the preference of older people, who come for the mild climate and the comfort of easy life.

Following a continuous upward course for many years, Cyprus did not avoid the worldwide negative effects on tourism in recent years. The 11 September 2001 events, the world recession and the war in Iraq resulted in a fall in tourist arrivals. ACTA joined in the collective effort of all parties involved in tourism affairs and contributed to the adoption of a strategy plan which aims at offsetting the negative course and at restoring a favourable recovery. The plan promotes enrichment of the tourist product, handling of the seasonality problems and generally promotes specific policies and measures aiming at repositioning Cyprus tourism and creating all the preconditions for establishing Cyprus as a major tourist destination.

International & Local Transportation
Excellent communications have contributed to a great extent to the fast development of the island. The two international airports in Larnaka and Pafos and the ports of Lemesos and Larnaka connect Cyprus with all countries of the world. More than 30 scheduled Airlines and more than 50 charter Airlines operate more than 500 flights weekly to and from Cyprus. Both airports of the island are among the most frequented in the Eastern Mediterranean. Regarding inland communications the short distances between cities are becoming even shorter due to a motorway network which is constantly extended and upgraded. There is public transport with regular connections between cities with scheduled taxi services and comfortable coaches. Private taxis and rental cars are readily available.

Climate         
The climate is generally sunny and dry. The sun shines for 340 days of the year. Winter is mild and the bathing season practically starts from April and does not end until November. Pineclad forests are not more than a couple of hours drive from the shore;  one can have a swim, a mountain trek or a ski, in the cold months, on one and the same day

Medical Services
Cyprus has a very high standard of medical services. Public hospitals, private clinics and other hospitalisation  centres are equipped with the latest facilities. Latest technology and operating techniques are standard, with heart bypass surgery and kidney transplants now routine in Cyprus hospitals. Many Cyprus doctors of various faculties jointly run polyclinics whose standards can be easily compared to other medically highly developed countries.

Telecommunications
Cyprus is among the world leaders in telecommunication facilities and a regional pioneer in introducing the latest technology in this field. CYTA (Cyprus Telecommunications Authority) has a network enabling subscriber direct dial access to almost every country of the world. CYTA provides telegraph service, ship-to-shore calls through the Cyprus station and INMARSAT satellite system, radio paging, mobile telephony (NMT and GSM) and public data network service (CYTAPAC). In compliance with EU Directives Cyprus has opened the telecommunications service to private initiative which already offers of multible options. The telecommunications sector is in the process of constant upgrading in line with latest world developments.

Conference and incentive tourism
Conference tourism, special interests, theme visits and other specialised events are also promoting Cyprus tourism.

The island is an attractive place for medium size meetings of professional associations and regional meetings or seminars of multinational companies which are usually held in off high-season periods, when they can combine quiet surroundings and lower charges, because of reduced hotel rates.

The declared task of the Cyprus goverment to promote and expand quality tourism resulted in a large number of 4 and 5 star hotels, all with their own conference facilities. All conference rooms have the latest technical facilities, with modern audio visual, telecommunication and simultaneous interpretation equipment. For such events, Cyprus offers the ideal combination of a value-for-money product, special tariffs for conference and incentive participants, high hotel standards with excellent conference facilities, conference management, tailor-made events and an ideal climate. The geographical location of the island in particular encourages many multi-national companies to hold their regional meetings in Cyprus, since the island is so easily accessible to delegates coming from Europe, Africa and even Asia. The construction of a highly equipped International Conference Centre in Lefkosia in 1988 opened the way for larger size international conferences and events. Similar facility is in the process of materialising in Limassol, supplementing the town's tourist facilities.

Special interest tourism
beats Cyprus has shown remarkable flexibility and adaptability in meeting the changing pattern of the shift from passive to active tourism and successfully competes for special interest tourism, for scholars who come to see and study archaeological treasures, or to look into rare species of flora and fauna or study the special features of the geology of the island. A special Association was created in 1996 to promote cultural and special interest tourism in Cyprus.

Sports Tourism
Due to its excellent climate conditions Cyprus is ideal for sports tourism and for hosting soccer teams, athletes of field and track events and others for training and exercise. This latter aspect operates most succesfully in connection with practising of athletes from various countries for international and regional events. Strategic plans are promoted which will further improve facilities for sports tourism including a number of golf courses for which there is lively interest from golfers all over the world.

Cruises
The cruise business is now an important segment of the Cyprus tourist product adding significantly to its enrichment and diversification. The island is becoming more popular as springboard for tourists who wish to cruise and visit neighbouring countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Israel and Greece.

Outgoing Tourism
Outgoing tourism is firmly on the rise. Cypriots are frequent travellers mainly to Europe and other nearer destinations, while the last few years have witnessed a growing traffic to destinations to the Far East, as well as to the Americas. Growing popularity by the locals is also noted for excursions on cruise ships in the mediterranean, which also serve foreign visitors to the island. Cypriots are among the top travellers of the Mediterrannean.