Credit card spending on the rise in 2008

LOCAL credit card spending increased 16 per cent to €1.9 billion in 2008 but tourist credit-card spending fell 3.0 per cent to €491 million, clearing agency JCC statistics showed yesterday.

Almost one fifth, or 20 per cent, of all spending went on supermarket bills, followed by clothing at some 14 per cent of the total. The remainder went on DIY and household items, airlines, entertainment, health, hotels, and petrol, among other categories.

Also during the year, some €20 million was spent on Turkish credit cards in the Republic, compared to just over €9 million spent in the north and in Turkey on credit cards issued in Cyprus.

Almost half the money spent in the north and in Turkey went on entertainment, which is believed to mainly cover casino spending. Over €2 million was spent on hotels and €455,706 on airlines.

South of the Green Line, Turkish credit cards were used to buy €4.6 million in groceries and €3.9 million in clothing plus another €2.8 million at DIY and home stores.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.