Regional fighting leads to fewer civil weddings in Cyprus

Cyprus’ civil wedding industry is suffering from Israel’s war on Gaza, with fewer couples from Israel and Lebanon choosing Cyprus to seal their devotion.

Over the past decades, excluding the Covid years, hundreds of couples from Israel and Lebanon came to Cyprus for their weddings and honeymoons, with guests spending time on the island too.

Most of the weddings were in Larnaca, where a significant drop has been recorded compared to 2023.

Philenews on Saturday presented Larnaca municipality data, showing that during the first half of 2024 there had been a total of 281 civil weddings, compared to 425 during the same period last year.

Israeli couples went from 274 to 142 and Lebanese from 49 to 39 during the first six months of 2023 and 2024 respectively.

“The clear drop in weddings due to the war,” Larnaca municipality secretary Andreas Louka said.

He added that “obviously we must turn to other markets too for civil weddings.”

Ayia Napa recorded a drop too, for different reasons though.

Before the pandemic, Ayia Napa saw about a 1,000 civil weddings per year, mostly couples from Britain.

The number is slightly reduced now and is attributed to a lower financial capability.