Wednesday, August 7, 2024
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Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip and growing fears of an escalation of the crisis in the Middle East have dealt a severe blow to wedding tourism.
Until last year – with the exception of the pandemic – hundreds of couples from Israel and Lebanon chose our country for their civil wedding, in most cases combining it with a few days of vacation for themselves and their guests.
The lion’s share of civil marriages of couples from Israel and Lebanon, which account for a significant share of wedding tourism, take place in the municipality of Larnaka: more than half of the weddings performed each year are between couples of these two nationalities.
However, this year there has been a significant decline in demand compared to 2023.
According to the Civil Marriage Department of the City of Larnaca, 281 civil marriages took place between the beginning of the year and June, compared to 425 in the same period last year.
The decline is mainly due to the Israelis: By June last year, 274 couples had married, this year the number was 142.
A decline in demand has also been recorded from Lebanon: in the same period last year, 49 marriages were concluded there, but this year the number was only 39.
Because of the war, there is a significant drop in marriages. People are affected by what is happening in these countries and there is also uncertainty as we hear every day about a possible escalation.
This prevents too many people from getting married, community secretary Andreas Louka told our newspaper.
He said that despite the significant decline in demand, these two countries continued to have the highest number of civil marriages in the municipality of Larnaca.
It is obvious that we have to turn to other markets for civil weddings.
Civil marriages in the municipality of Ayia Napa are now declining slightly, but for other reasons, where around 1,000 took place per year before the pandemic.
Most marriages in this region are between couples from the UK. This year, the number of marriages is declining, which is attributed to the lower financial standing of these couples.
