Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In response to the downward trend in tourist
arrivals currently being experienced in the
south, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO)
has instituted a
Strategic Plan for Tourism 2010
which it started to implement in 2003. The plan
aims at sustainable tourism development for
Cyprus by repositioning the product as a high
quality destination centred on culture and the
environment. The Plan has the goal of doubling
total tourism revenue to reach CY£1.8bn by
2010, by increasing the number of boutique
hotels, tourist villages, villas and traditional
houses. Tourist arrivals are expected to increase
The CTO's sustainable tourism strategy
comes after a long period in which the Republic
of Cyprus has benefited from the 'critical mass'
of large-scale tourism development, which was
simply not available to the TRNC. With the pro-
spect of mass tourism development opportuni-
ties opening up in the north, the dilemma now is
how to 'catch up' with the south by achieving
that critical mass of tourism development in a
way which does not jeopardize the environment
nor threaten existing tourism stakeholders.
Over the years of the north's isolation, a
number of specialist companies have developed
successful niche tourism products which are
increasingly being taken up and developed by
larger companies. One such company is Jewels
of the World, which is linked to the charter flight
company TWI. Their 2005 catalogue offered a
variety of specialist holidays ranging from walk-
ing tours and sea diving to weddings, blessings
and honeymoons and a tailored 'connoisseur
programme'. As the second largest incoming
operator for Northern Cyprus, Jewels of the
World brings in 15,000 package tours per year,
and is optimistic about expanding and develop-
ing its markets, but its plans for growth require
the availability of larger units of accommodation
in order to meet the requirements of the major
European tour operators for economies of scale.
However, the question of the extent to which
Northern Cyprus should aim to attract the large
operators is one which divides the industry.
Representatives of the Turkish Cypriot Hoteliers'
Association, KITSOB - the majority of whose
members own small family-run hotels with
fewer than 200 beds (Table 18.5) - argue that
Northern Cyprus needs to keep out mass tour-
ism, continuing instead to develop small-scale
niche tourism, and focus on maintaining North-
ern Cyprus' reputation as a quiet and relatively
undeveloped location that offers an alternative
to the tourism of the south. For the owners and
operators of the larger hotels, on the other
hand, the south offers a model of a different
kind. As the head of Net Holding, an important
tourism company in Turkey which, under the
trading name of 'Merit', has major investments
in hotels in the north of Cyprus, observed: 'We
need to decide on our priorities and ask our-
selves why we attract only 300,000 tourists
Table 18.5.
Northern Cyprus: hotels and holiday village accommodation by number of beds.
2004
Under construction 2005-2006
Combined total
No. of
beds
No. of
hotels
As % of
total hotels
No. of
hotels
As % of total under
construction
No. of
hotels
As % of
total hotels
<
50
59
50.0
22
38.6
80
45.7
50
−
100
26
22.0
11
19.3
37
21.1
100
−
200
22
18.6
8
14.0
29
16.6
200
−
300
5
4.2
8
14.0
13
7.4
300
−
400
2
1.7
2
3.5
3
1.7
400
500
1
0.8
2
3.5
4
2.3
−
500
>
3
2.5
4
7.0
9
5.1
Total
118
100
57
100
175
100
Note:
these totals reflect the construction of additional bed capacity insomeoftheexisting establishments.
Source:
Extrapolated by the authors from unpublished figures supplied by the Ministry of Tourism and
Economy, TRNC.
