The TRNC’s Under-secretary for the Ministry of Tourism, Sahap Asikoglu, has said that a there would be a substantial increase in tourism in the North if there is a Cyprus settlement.
Speaking to Turkish daily ‘Milliyet’, Asikoglu added that the country should make preparations and that natural and historical sites needed preserving.
He said that in 2009, 370,000 tourists visited the TRNC and that this number had increased to 800,000. Asikoglu added that the Tourist Ministry’s goal was to increase tourist numbers up to 2 million within the next 5-6 years.
The ministry official noted that there had been a significant increase in tourists from countries such as the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Denmark and France.
