Ayia Napa, officially romanised Agia Napa, is a tourist resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus.

The name Ayia Napa is derived from a Venetian-era monastery of the same name, located in the center of the town, next to the square that today is the clubbing centre. The word "Ayia" means "holy" in Greek. "Napa" is archaic and means "wooded valley" or "dell". In ancient times the area surrounding the town was covered with thick forest.

The city in 2013 under new leadership and management shifted its strategy and decided to improve on quality rather than quantity. The vision of the city according to public statements of mayor Yiannis Karousos is to by 2030 become the best and most cosmopolitan tourist resort of the mediterranean.

Beginning in 2013, the resort has implemented a series of actions in fulfilling its vision, upgrades in public infrastructure and the hospitality sector (hotels and restaurants), shutting down problem establishments, and attracted mega projects such as the 220 million euro marina. Additionally, major events and festivals have been added to the calendar, to improve the quality of the resort and promote its cosmopolitan aspects. The vision set by the city is supported by the Cyprus Tourism Strategy, which for 2030 was completed in March 2017, and which sets as a vision for Ayia Napa the following: Ayia Napa should aspire to be regarded as one of Europe's top three beach and nightclubbing holiday destinations, with a customer value proposition (CVP) offering the best beach and marine experience in Cyprus for young adults, complemented by international standard beach clubs and nightlife.

On 6 March 2018 the city announced a shift on its tourism strategy, having as a main goal turning low quality nightlife into a cosmopolitan nightlife. The city council, after hearing all the stakeholders of the Ayia Napa tourism, voted unanimously against the low quality youth tourist product (organised youth) which typically misbehaves and does not respect the laws of Cyprus and with their actions create negative publicity for the resort and do damage to the reputation of the Ayia Napa brand, which, according to the announcement, the city has worked very hard to reposition and reintroduce in the last years.