Ataoglu implores Turkish holidaymakers to choose north over Greek islands

The north’s ‘tourism minister’ Fikri Ataoglu on Thursday implored Turkish holidaymakers to choose to travel to the north instead of to the Greek islands for their holidays.

Speaking to Turkish newspaper Aksam, he said, “come to your own island instead of the Greek islands for an affordable and quality holiday.”

He said the north’s “primary target” with its latest campaign to promote itself as a tourism destination is “85 million Turkish citizens”.

“We share the same language, the same religion, and the same currency. Just as Turkey took ownership of North Cyprus years ago, we want them to take ownership of their island in the same way now,” he said.

He added, “we are expecting Turkish citizens to visit North Cyprus, which offers quality holiday options for every budget, instead of Greece or other islands.”

Turkish holidaymakers have flocked in large numbers to the Greek islands this year after the Greek government launched a visa on arrival scheme, allowing Turkish citizens to travel to 10 Greek islands for up to a week without having to apply for a full Schengen zone visa.

As such, a total of 50,000 Turkish nationals visited Greek islands during Eid al-Adha in June, with Turkish travel agents’ association Tursab Izmir branch chairman Kivanc Meric telling newspaper Sabah that between 1,500 and 2,500 Turkish citizens per day have been visiting Greek islands throughout the summer.

This trend of Turkish citizens choosing to holiday in Greece comes with the north’s tourism sector enduring a difficult year.

Former Cyprus Turkish tourism and travel agencies’ union (Kitsab) director Mustafa Soforoglu said earlier this month that the north is “suffering major losses” in its tourism sector.

He had added that the north is facing a “serious decline in the number of foreign tourists”.

Delving into reasons why, he said the costs of flights to and accommodation in the north have both increased, which, he said, “makes it difficult for tourists” to choose to travel to the north.

Additionally, he said, “there is inadequate promotion in the international arena” in terms of advertising campaigns. He said this “reduces the capacity” of the north to attract tourists.

He also said the north’s ‘government’ has “removed incentives” which supported the tourism sector, and that there are also “negativities regarding security and the environment” which are persuading tourists to choose other destinations.

This goes hand in hand with what he described as “insecurity” on the part of overseas-based tour operators, who are now choosing to deal with “different destinations”.

“These figures show that while southern Cyprus is making steady progress in tourism, they reveal that the TRNC is stagnating. There is no country left with which our tourism sector can compete, and while our neighbour is increasing its income every year, we are losing,” he said.