The target for tourism in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) this year is 2 million tourists.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth, and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu has said that their expectations for the number of tourists was higher than previous years, and their target was to attract more than 2 million tourists.

In an interview with the Anadolu News Agency, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth, and Environment, Fikri Ataoğlu said that efforts to increase the number of tourists visiting the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) were underway.

Ataoğlu explained that they were conducting various activities in many of the towns and cities in the country to diversify the places tourists could visit.

He also mentioned that they are carrying out advertising campaigns in Türkiye, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Ataoğlu stated that travel agencies are actively working to bring tourists to the TRNC and expressed their hopes that these efforts would have a positive impact on the number of tourists visiting the country.

Ataoğlu emphasized the significant role of tourism for the TRNC economy and noted that, like the rest of the world, there had been a drop in the number of tourists visiting the TRNC during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our expectation for the number of tourists is higher than previous years. We have set a target of over 2m for this year, and we are working towards achieving this goal. All our efforts are focused on realizing this target. We are now entering the summer season, and there is a considerable demand from tourists to visit the TRNC. The occupancy rates of our hotels are promising,” Ataoğlu said.

He highlighted that despite the increase in tourists, the number of beds and facilities were still limited and that work was underway to increase the current bed capacity.

Ataoğlu also expressed the view that the new terminal building and runway at Ercan Airport will make a significant contribution to tourism once put into service.

“The new airport will contribute to an increase in the number of tourists. With the increase in flight frequencies and the arrival of new airlines at Ercan, tourism will further thrive,” he added.