Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu called on Turkish citizens to visit the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Making a statement to the Anadolu Agency (AA) regarding the tourism sector in the country, Ataoğlu said that Türkiye has a population of 85 million, 13 million of which travel abroad and added that despite the TRNC being only an hour away, it does not receive enough attention from Turkish nationals.

“As long as we two brotherly countries look out for one another we will both thrive” said Ataoğlu.

Stating that the 2024 tourism year brought positive outcomes for the TRNC, Ataoğlu said, “There were very serious problems in the tourism sector, especially during the pandemic and after the pandemic but we worked hard to catch up to where we were before”.

“Currently, our tourism performance continues to increase every year and we have exceeded the rates we achieved before the pandemic” said Ataoğlu.

Underlining that he is more hopeful for tourism next year, Ataoğlu stated that the opening of new hotels in the TRNC and the increase in the number of airline companies are indicators of the increase in tourism.

He also noted that they exchanged views with TÜRSAB on issues such as the introduction of new airline companies and the introduction of sea routes, which were initiated by citizens living in Türkiye in order to carry more visits to the TRNC.

“We discussed how we can revitalize tourism together with TÜRSAB. We talked about how important it is for our brothers and sisters living in the motherland Türkiye to visit the TRNC. We are calling on all Turkish nationals to visit the TRNC instead of going to other islands or countries. We share the same religion, the same language and the same currency,” said Ataoğlu.