Ustel urges EU to condemn Cyprus-Tui tourism deal

The north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel on Thursday urged the “world and the European Union to recognise right from wrong” in response to a reported agreement between the Republic of Cyprus and tour operator Tui to reduce the number of tourists taking day trips to the north.

During a visit to the Ledras Street crossing point in central Nicosia, Ustel criticised the “Greek Cypriot mentality,” accusing Greek Cypriots of “trying to create a rift between Cyprus’ two communities.”

His comments come after a screenshot emerged on Tuesday of an email reportedly sent by Tui’s operations team manager in Cyprus to the company’s local partners, saying the company would no longer promote or sell excursions to the north from the Republic after August 31.

Tui’s website now lists its “Northern Cyprus Tour with Famagusta, Salamis, and Kyrenia” day trip package as “sold out”.

In response, Ustel announced that his ‘government’ would now “direct” tourists visiting the north to areas and businesses that have traditionally benefited from day trippers coming from the Republic. “We will do our best to keep these places alive and to enable our tradesmen to do business here, and we will provide all the support and effort we can,” he said.

He went on to say that the Greek Cypriots “cannot stand the fact there are mutual crossings” on the island.

“We opened an initiative to open a crossing point at Mia Milia. While we were trying to open other crossing points like this, we bore witness to the Greek Cypriot mentality once again. While efforts are being made to revive trade here with the Green Line Regulation, they are doing their best to stop people from crossing,” he said.

He expressed hope that the EU and the international community would “see who is right and who is wrong” and act accordingly. Ustel then briefly addressed the broader Cyprus issue, saying that while Turkish Cypriots had long supported a federal model, they are “not in a position to defend it for another 50 years,” which is why they have been campaigning for a two-state solution since 2020.

The issue had caused concern among the north’s hospitality sector, with Turkish Cypriot restauranteurs’ association (Res-Bir) board member Cemal Gulercan describing the reported deal as “malicious”.

He added that it will “increase political tensions” between the island’s communities and “can be seen as part of a strategy to isolate North Cyprus economically.

He said, “what is needed on this island is goodwill and peace, not tension.”

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar also criticised the deal, saying “this situation once again reveals the true intentions of the Greek Cypriot leader [Nikos Christodoulides] and therefore the Greek Cypriot administration regarding Cyprus’ future.”

He called on Christodoulides to abandon this “primitive policy” and take steps toward “establishing new cooperation moving forward.”

Meanwhile, Cyprus’ Deputy Tourism Minister Costas Koumis avoided directly addressing the issue on Wednesday, stating only that his ministry “does not cooperate with any organisation that promotes a programme for tourists to stay in the occupied territories.” Later, he told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that “we never choose to make any information public.”