More than a million people visited North Cyprus during the first 10 months of 2012. This fact represents a dramatic increase of 16.5% on the same period in 2011.
Karpaz Gate Marina - a beautiful superyacht marina situated in North Cyprus
Despite the global financial woes, North Cyprus welcomed 1,000,861 people through its ports and airports during the first ten months of 2012, compared to 859,349 the previous year.
An increase in charter flights to the area has been a strong factor in driving up visitor numbers, but the new and developing facilities at Karpaz Gate Marina have also played a part in increasing the popularity and attractiveness of the region.
As well as boasting superior equipment and facilities for all types of vessels up to superyacht size, the marina offers much more to visitors including its International Beach Club and Hemingway’s Resto-Bar.
The vast majority of the one million people arrived in North Cyprus via Ercan airport, with significant numbers also coming in through the ferry terminal at Girne.
Kadir Doruhan, Tourism Co-ordinator for North Cyprus Tourism Centre Ltd, visited Karpaz Gate Marina this year. He said: “I was very impressed by the set-up at Karpaz Gate. There was only a very limited harbour before, so it is great that we now have these facilities.
“Visitors come to North Cyprus because it is not commercialised and is untouched compared to other Mediterranean destinations. There is culture, history, peace and quiet and it is very family orientated.”
The vast majority of tourists visiting North Cyprus are from the Turkish Republic (765,915), with the UK providing the second highest number of visitors at 42,611 in the first ten months of 2012.
There is a significant rise in the numbers of Germans choosing North Cyprus, with 20,393 people visiting in 2012 – a rise of 36.6% on 2011.
The Netherlands provided 16,987 visitors to North Cyprus, up by a remarkable 88%, with Iran (20,692) and Russia (11,986) the other main contributors to overall numbers.
Doruhan is confident the number of people visiting the region will continue to grow in 2013 due to an ongoing marketing strategy. “Considering the financial struggles around the world, it has been a good year,” he added. “We are implementing marketing activities and in 2013 we will be continuing to push walking, history and attractions such as our wild orchid.”
Latif Ince, Officer with the Tourism Marketing & Promotion Department in North Cyprus, says the rise in visitors is partly due to the increase in charter flights. “We have a number of incentives in place to encourage charter flights and the number of destinations has increased significantly over the last year,” said Ince. “It was a big year last year where we saw the number of tourists hit one million for the first time.
“Karpaz Marina is a big attraction, so we are looking to improve the infrastructure now in terms of developing our marinas. We also have the Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally in May.
“The main attractions to the area are of course the sunshine and the friendly and hospitable people.”
There are also large numbers of Russians (63,473), Germans (71,381), Bulgarians (68,434) and Romanians (53,158) entering North Cyprus via the border gates from South Cyprus.
Cyprus Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Neoklis Sylikiotis said that new efforts should be made to attract more tourism, emphasising that tourism is the biggest factor to influence the economy of the country.
And the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) George Mindis added that tourism is not only the support system of the countries, but that the growth of the island is highly dependent on tourism.
