North Cyprus is expecting 200 thousand tourists from 12 countries in 2016 through charter flights alone, the tourist minister has said.
Minister for Tourism Faiz Sucuoglu, told Kibris Gazetesi that this year, tourists from the Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, Germany, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Iran, Slovakia, Turkey, Lithuania, Estonia and Slovenia will visit North Cyprus with using charter flights.
Referring to the number of reservations from Britain, Sucuoglu said that these had doubled this year compared to 2015. He added that the newly established Independent Turkish Cypriot Tour Operators Union in London, has added further momentum in the tourism sector.
Sucuoglu said that they will continue advertising abroad and pointed out that after following their advertising campaigns, there has been “more reference to North Cyprus” in Turkey and the UK. He added that shortly, they will start begin advertising in Germany. Referring to the tourism fair in Germany, Sucuoglu said that he will hold a series of contacts there and that he will meet with tour operators.
He further noted that Corendon Airlines has relations with all the hotels in North Cyprus, and has launched an intense advertising campaign. Subsequently, there have been a high number of reservations, he said.
Noting that they are working with stakeholders to establish a tourism organisation, he said that next week they will hold a tourism council.
Sucuoglu noted that they are in continuous contact with the EU and the World Bank and that they want financial support especially for their Eco tourism projects.
Sucuoglu further said that two big tour operators, who carry tourists from Iran to Turkey, held contacts with him and that Iranian tourists might visit North Cyprus for a break after shopping in Turkey.
Kibris Gazetesi
