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Politics and sustainable tourism development Can they co-exist?Voices from North Cyprus

Muhammet Yasarata a, Levent Altinay b,*, Peter Burns c, Fevzi Okumus d

a Cyprus Premier Holidays Ltd, UKb Department of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management, The Business School, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane Campus, Headington, Oxford OX3 OBP, UKc Centre for Tourism Policy Studies, University of Brighton, UKd Rosen College of Hospitality Management, The University of Central Florida, Universal Blvd Orlando, Florida 32819, US

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 27 October 2008

Accepted 27 March 2009

Keywords:

Small island

Sustainable tourism development

Political issues

Agency theory

Qualitative research

North Cyprus

a b s t r a c t

This paper investigates ways in which political obstacles inhibit the formulation and implementation ofsustainable tourism development in small-island developing states through the example of NorthCyprus. The methodology draws on in-depth interviews and participant observation of significant actors

in the tourism sector. The research findings suggest that understanding the intricate political system and

power structure in a society is the key to understanding sustainable tourism policy development,planning and implementation. In the case of North Cyprus, policy development was found to bea product of political influence (referred to as ego-driven politics in the text), specifically the use of public

resources as an instrument for political power, retention and that the politicisation of the public sector is

the underlying cause of the weakened progress in sustainable tourism development. It is thereforeessential to have a clear understanding of political issues, key political actors interests and how tomitigate personal interests to facilitate and maintain sustainable tourism development in such small

states. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Small-island developing states (SIDS in UN terminology) havecertain shared socio-economic and political characteristics, which

place them in a very low position within the international politicaleconomy. The particularities of North Cyprus and its problemsassociated with political and economic isolation, institutionalgovernance, and personalised political structures (Alipour & Kilic,

2005) can be located in a broader SIDS analytical narrative. Theseinclude communication and trading structures (such as physicaldistance from markets) that inflate the price of imports and place

exports at a competitive disadvantage; labourmarkets characterisedby a limited skills base and reliance on expatriates; limited land areaand non-existence of extractive minerals (with a veryfew exceptionssuch as bauxite in Jamaica, gold in Fiji, and oil in Trinidad) coupledwith reliance on a limited range of primary commodity exports

(typically tropical fruit and sugar cane); and finally small, frag-mented domestic markets that lack critical mass (Milne, 1992).

The politics of tourism is a struggle for power and underpinnedby the question cui bono (who benefits?) as Strange (1994), indiscussing concepts of the international political economy, puts it.Power governs the interaction of those individuals, organisations,

and agencies that influence or try to influence the formulation oftourism policy and also the manner in which it is implemented(Altinay & Bowen, 2006). In particular, in developing countries,formulation of sustainable tourism policies and plans and their

implementation are impeded as a result of power struggles andpolitical manoeuvring among key actor groups including govern-ment, private sector, political parties, local government and

communities (Altinay, Var, Hines, & Hussain, 2007; Tosun, 2000).Central to planning for any sector, including tourism, is the

measure of centralisation (and personalised politics) in any givencountry. While the nature of planning seems to be somewhatdecentralized in advanced economies (the so-called developed

world), the opposite prevails in many developing countries, wheretourism planning is often centralized and most decisions are madethrough government intervention rather than pluralism (Choi &Sirakaya, 2006; Inskeep,1991; Tosun & Timothy, 2001). For example,

Tosun (2000) claims that political structures or systems determinepre-conditions for participation in the tourism developing process.That is to say, the ruling elites of developing countries rationalise

* Correspondence to. Tel.: 44 1865 483832; fax: 44 1865 483878.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. Yasarata), laltinay@

brookes.ac.uk (L. Altinay), [email protected] (P. Burns), fokumus@mail.

ucf.edu (F. Okumus).

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Tourism Management

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / t o u r m a n

0261-5177/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2009.03.016

Tourism Management 31 (2010) 345356
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02615177http://www.elsevier.com/locate/tourmanhttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/tourmanhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02615177mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

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their decisions under cover of bureaucratic traditions (Shamsul-Haque, 2007): unwilling to give up thepotential for personal gain for

the sake of community benefits. In line with these arguments, anassumption underpinning the present paper is that governmentsmust communicate with and involve the local population in plan-

ning and management decisions while offering a fair distribution ofthe benefits and costs among the full range of stakeholders (Tosun &Timothy, 2001).

However, developing countries are oftentimes deficient in

developing and implementing those policies and regulations astourism is perceived as an isolated and superficial economic tool(Alipour & Kilic, 2005) concerned with satisfying the needs of rich

foreigners rather than a strategic imperative for poverty alleviationand wealth creation. For example, while investigating and exploringthe rootsof unsustainable tourism development at local level in caseof Urgup, Turkey, Tosun and Jenkins (1998) conclude that, short-

sighted policies of political and economic expedience promotedthe rapid emergence of mass tourism resulting in environmentaldegradation and weakened, fragmented social structures. This inturn resulted in the local community being disenfranchised and

disconnected from the natural and economic resources upon whichthat type of tourism was built.

The implicit (rather than explicit) intellectual framework for thepaper is entrenched in a number of sub-disciplines and conceptualareas including structuration, international political economy, thepolitics of power, and the nuances of environmental sustainability.Drawing on a wide range of literature and an empirical case study

undertaken in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC), thispaper investigates how political obstacles inhibit formulationand implementation of sustainable tourism development in small-island developing states. North Cyprus is a useful case for study

because, apart from sharing many characteristics of small, stressed,post-conflict economies, it has suffered both from the wellrehearsed political problems between Turkish and Greek Cypriotsand decades of isolation. It is hoped that this paper will illuminate

both external and internal political challenges faced by tourism and

highlight the options that other destinations in a similar positionmay consider as part of their approach to sustainable tourismdevelopment becomes more complex in a rapidly changing polit-

ical and financial world.

2. Literature review

There have been a series of tourism planning paradigms thatpertain to participation. Getz (1987) identified four broadapproaches which can be thought of as a staged development oftourism planning philosophy: i) civic boosterism, ii) an economic or

industry-oriented approach, iii) a physical/spatial approach, and iv)a community-oriented approach which emphasises the role thatthe destination community plays in the tourism experience. Each

tradition has had a different stimulus and explanation placingvarying emphases on technical, economic, social, environmentaland political issues.

As early as 1980 the UNWTO (1980) suggested that many

tourism master plans were prepared but rarely implemented asintended (a point reiterated by Burns, 2004). The reasons, as Hall(2000) and others suggest, are that they are too complex, finan-cially impractical, and somewhat disconnected from the institu-

tional arrangements of particular destinations. Moreover, suchplans are unrealistic with regard to the expectations of coordina-tion, cooperation and participation and political management. Thesophisticated master planning approach ofGunn (1977) and Baud-

Bovy (1982) have proven unwieldy; the complexity of tourismmultipliers is often misused or abused (see the discussion in Burns,

1999; de Kadt, 1979a, 1979b); and the energy required to effect

cross-community involvement beyond public relations, rarelyemployed. However, although each tradition has proven essentiallyunworkable on its own, it has been argued that it is important todraw the best examples from them, to work towards an integrated

planning structure (Burns & Holden, 1995; Getz, 1987; Hall, 2000) in particular towards a sustainable approach to tourism planning.As Hall (2000:41) asserts:

.

a sustainable tourism industry requires a commitment by allparties involved in the planning process to sustainable devel-

opment principles. Only through such widespread commitmentcan the long-term integration of social, environmental and

economic, as well as cultural and political goals be attained.(Hall, 2000:41)

Aligning these goals is not easy: destinations must choosea strategy that not only reflects their political zeitgeist, but also onethat will achieve both short and long-term stated aspirations.Underpinning such choices must be the capacity to foster and

steward resources for the future. The private sector tends to usea market-oriented approach, while the public sector tends to takea supply oriented (resource-based) approach to tourism develop-

ment (Altinay et al., 2007). There is a natural contradiction between

the danger of destroying the environment (what the tourists cometo see) and the commercial imperatives (both in terms of quickreturns for investors and governments desire to generate tax

revenues). This contradiction creates political complications for thedevelopment of sustainable tourism in any destination.

Watters (1984) describes the shape of such economies with theacronym MIRAB, which comprises: outward migration (MI);

a dependence on high levels of remittances resulting from themigration (R); overseas aid (A) receipts (often from former colonial/administrative power) to cover trade deficits, and a reliance on the

bureaucracy (i.e. the government) (B) for job creation. For many

SIDS this situation is, along with fishing, tourism and perhapsoffshore banking, the only option for legal economic stabilityalthough it should be noted that SIDS are vulnerable to influence by

criminal activities such as money laundering through casinogambling (NCSR, 2000) and the inevitable social problems causedby the type of tourism associated with large casinos. These char-acteristics do allow for generalisations to be made.

There is a firmly established trend for tourism destinations ina whole range of economic circumstances (advanced, restructuring,post-conflict, post-colonial and so on) to recognise that sustainable

development, including tourism, should meet stakeholder needsfar beyond the simplistic dualism of those involved in supply anddemand. Increasingly, communities that have a direct geographical,locational, political, or economic interest in tourisms development

have been placed central in the needs-satisfaction equation (cf.Burns & Novelli, 2008). The roots to this trend lay in the Brundtlandreport (1987), from which emerged the triangle of sustainable

development (economic responsibility, social inclusion, environ-mental stewardship) that has become the bedrock of 21st centurypolitico-environmental thinking (Gossling, 2003). This holisticapproach to development, based in part on the optimism of pere-stroikaand glasnost as they paved the way for the end of the ColdWar and what promised, at the time, to be a concordance ofstability and international cooperation lay the foundations of a newpolitical concurrence on environmentalism (broadly summarised

as the Kyoto Agreement) which remains somewhat fuzzy but theclimate change arguments of the Inter-governmental Panel onClimate Change appears to be forcing inevitable agreement towardsenvironmental matters and sustainability taking centre stage.

This trend applies to planning and implementation of sustainabletourism and the consideration of all socio-economic development as

well as the interests of various stakeholder groups, or perhaps more

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accurately, actors. Effective planning and implementation forsustainable tourism then, is dependent on the cooperation of many

players and framed by its global condition of being multi-sectoraland framed by socio-political complexities (Burns, 2008). Choiand Sirakaya (2006), in particular, claim that sustainable tourism

development inevitably generates political and power strugglesoverthe equitable use of requisite physical, cultural, and financialresources required. This lack of equitable access to the decision-making processes is, according to Liu and Wall (2006) and Tosun

(2000) particularly affects participation of local communities insome developing countries where decisions are manipulated anddominated by political elites and centralist bureaucrats.

Social structures, networks and interactions (cf. Giddens, 1984,theory of structuration) and the way the government and politicalstructure is institutionalized in a countryalso have some bearing onthe tourism development and implementation (Alipour & Kilic,

2005; Burns, 2004; Hall, 1994; Okumus & Karamustafa, 2005). Thecomplex structure of society with its competing actor totalities(Giddens, 1984), short-sighted political conflicts, frequent changesof governments all lead towards changes of plans and imple-

mentation barriers being thrown up (Hall & Jenkins, 1995).Contextualized in its social and political structures, tourism plan-

ning forSIDScan be seen as a relatively distinct subset in the debatesurrounding tourism, its planning, and impacts. There are links tobe drawn between corporate strategic thinking of multinationaltourism companies (such as hotel groups, airlines and tour opera-tors) and the ability (or lack thereof) of governments to plan and

implement sustainable tourism policies. Government planning willoften incorporate measures to diversify the economy, and typicallyhave goals such as achieving fiscal stability by ensuring that anincreasing proportion of the national budget comes from local

sources (i.e. attempting to broaden the economy beyond MIRABframed dependency) and to channel a greater measure of devel-opment assistance to the rural and outer regions.

3. Tourism development in North Cyprus

Cyprus has a history of modern commercial tourism that datesback to the 1930s (Storrs, 1930), which peaked first in the 1960s.

However, with theTurkish intervention in 1974 after a military coupin Cyprus, the subsequent political fracture of the island intoa Turkish north and Greek south, tourism development waslopsided in favour of the south for almost fourdecades. While Greek

Cypriots had the opportunity for some development of their socio-economic structures (including links with the global economy)Turkish Cypriots had to focus on basic needs in order to sustain theirphysical conditions (EIU, 1995). Stephen (1997:32) captures the

essence of the problem:

Economically isolated, the Turkish Cypriot community has founditself in a backwater as faras trade and industryand employment

are concerned, and does not participate in the economic expan-sion of thecountry andthe development of its resources. Many of

the estimated 20,000 refugees and displaced persons in theTurkish Cypriot enclaves are unemployed, and their enforcedidleness emphasises the isolation of the community, whoseeconomy is sustained by financial assistance and relief supplies

from Turkey. about one-third of the Turkish Cypriot populationis estimated to need some form of welfare relief.

The tourism industry has been one of the main sectors inNorthern Cyprus economy. Key statistical data about the tourismindustry in Northern Cyprus arepresented in Table 1. There areover

850 tourism and hospitality businesses, most of which are smallfamily run bars, cafes, restaurants and gift shops. The accommo-

dation sub-sector is the main component of the tourism industry

and as of the end of 2008 there were 119 accommodation estab-lishments (hotels, motels, holiday villages) with a bed capacity of

15,540 (Ministry of Economics and Tourism, 2009). The tourismindustry contributed to the GDP of North Cyprus by $303.2 and$376.2 millionin 2006 and 2007. The tourism industry created 8208

jobs in 2007 which is about 7% in the total employment (Ministryof Economics and Tourism, 2009). Main tourist markets have been

Turkey, Britain and Germany. The annual occupancy rate forhospitality organisations was around 30% in 2007.

A comparison of North and South Cyprus through a rangeof standard macro-economic indicators shows, in most cases,a considerable comparative advantage for South Cyprus over NorthCyprus. For example, GNP is nearly 10 times higher and GNP 2.5

times higher in 2003. With regard to main tourism indicators NorthCyprus attracted relatively few tourists compared to South Cyprusin 2007 indeed South Cyprus attracted more than seven times as

many tourists (EIU, 2007). This resulted in comparatively lowtourism revenue for the North. The latteralso has an under-capacityof beds compared to South Cyprus. While South Cyprus has turnedinto a well-established destination, North Cyprus has struggledto achieve economic growth and escape from its political and

economic dependence on Turkey.Tourism has brought its share of negative effects. So, whilst

South Cyprus has experienced a rapid, profitable growth since 1974it has been largely unplanned. Consequently, the indigenous flora

and fauna have been damaged and are endangered. Moreover,tourism development has created architectural (visual) pollutionand an insufficient water resource (Ioannides, Apostolopoulos, &Sonmez, 2001). In North Cyprus, international sanctions have

prevented overall economic growth and have also generated

problems for the tourism sector. High dependence on Turkishtourists causes problems such as short average length of stay anda reduced flow of foreign currency. Turkish clientele constitute the

majority of casino gamblers (Altinay, Altinay, & Bicak, 2002) espe-cially since the Republic of Turkey banned casinos in 1998.Economic and political crises in and around Turkey have influenced

the tourism industry in North Cyprus (Okumus, Altinay, & Roper,2005). North Cyprus also lacks variation in its tourism offering,suffers from low occupancy rates, relatively poor service qualityand lack of or insufficient infrastructure. However, contrary to

South Cyprus, North Cyprus does not suffer from the same level ofnegative impacts resulting from mass tourism (Altinay, 2000).

A consequence of the restricted tourism development in thenorth has been that the natural environment remained, for the

most part, undisturbed (Altinay et al., 2002). However, the effects of

Table 1

Key statistical figures about the tourism industry in Northern Cyprus.

Years Foreign tourismdemand (except

for Turkey)

Tourismdemand

from Turkey

Total

demand

Tourism

income

% of

GDP

Occupancy

rate ofhotels

1995 87,733 298,026 385,759 218.9 3.3 37.5

1996 75,985 289,131 365,116 175.6 2.7 32.5

1997 73,000 326,364 399,364 183.2 3.0 35.3

1998 77,230 315,797 393,027 186.0 3.0 37.31999 79,615 334,400 414,015 192.8 3.1 37.5

2000 85,241 347,712 432,953 198.3 3.2 37.6

2001 87,348 227,720 365,097 93.7 3.0 30.9

2002 109,364 316,189 425,553 114.1 3.2 31.3

2003 129,794 340,083 469,877 178.8 3.2 35.72004 164,268 434,744 599,012 288.3 3.4 39.2

2005 164,756 488,023 652,779 328.8 3.1 38.6

2006 143,116 572,633 715,749 303.2 2.4 31.02007 156,456 634,580 791,036 376.3 2.7 29.9

Compiled from Ministry of Economics and Tourism (2007, 2008, 2009) and SPO

(2007).

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political and economic semi-isolation as well as problems such asa lack of marketing in the past, shortage of qualified staff, erratic

patterns of tourist arrivals and indirect flights (Altinay et al., 2002),have limited the development of tourism. As a result, uninten-tionally North Cyprus has avoided the heavy concentrations of

resorts that characterise many Mediterranean coastlines. Only thecoastal area of Kyrenia where new hotels and villas are underconstruction shows signs of transformation. But there is littledoubt that North Cyprus is now at the threshold of rapid tourism

development and in a sense this reinforces the environment atcentre stage in the local tourism debate.

The environmental phenomenon, which arose as an interna-

tional issue in the 1970s and which has been considered ondifferent scales and in different arrangements has, since the late1980s, assumed a position on the political agenda of the TurkishRepublic of North Cyprus (TRNC). The environment was first

studied as a distinct subject in the TRNC as part of the Third Five-Year Development Plan (TFYDP) (SPO,1996), and as a result,variouspublic organisations have begun to develop and implement envi-ronmental policies.

The accident of history and politics that left North Cyprus out ofthe tourism development scramble that afflicted the rest of the

Mediterranean may be an environmental silver lining to whatseemed to be a development cloud. Consumer patterns and trendsseem to indicate growing concern about the environment and theemergence of a rejection of spoilt, overdeveloped environments(Scottish Enterprise, 2003). This evidence clearly points towards

the obvious developmental conclusion: if tourism is to besuccessful and sustained then North Cyprus natural and builtenvironments must be conserved. The government has a majormediating role to play given the likely conflict between different

actors that is bound to surround much tourism development inNorth Cyprus. The experience in South Cyprus of the late 1960s andearly 1970s was an environmental catastrophe and amounted tothe construction of a high buildings and concrete hotels along the

length of sandybeaches in the wholeof Cyprus (Andronikou, 1979).

Though on a different scale, from the point of view of environ-mental destruction, the same mistakes were committed by theGreek Cypriots in Limassol, Larnaca and, to a certain extent, in Ayia

Napa and Phapos (Andronikou, 1987; Ioannides, 1992; Lockhart,1994, 1997; Lockhart, Drakakis-Smith, & Schembri, 1993; Witt,1991). From the tourism point of view, the North Cyprus ThirdFive-Year Development Plan (TFYDP) was important in that it

emphasised the main objectives and identified the main problemsencountered by the Turkish Cypriot tourism industry (SPO,1996:230254). Overall, the TFYDP drew attention to the environ-mental dimension within its introductory paragraph:

The recent economic, social and political developments in the

world have increased the relationships and connections ofcountries with one and another, thus making the foundation of

new economic policies inevitable. The concept of developmenthas been changing, and the environmental dimension, along

with social and economic dimensions, has been reflected ondevelopment strategies. The processes of integration, takingplace on a global scale, areintensifyingthe international tourismmovements, thus raising the competition among tourism-based

economies, and the rising environmental consciousness in ourworld makes up the main theme of this competition (SPO,1996:230).

But the development and implementation of environmentalplanning and a sustainable approach to tourism development was

until that time especially constrained by political realities resultingfrom its isolation.

4. Methods

The approach to data collection was framed by the ethnographictradition of participant observation as it is particularly suited to

observing interpersonal group processes. It focuses on the emicperspective in generating the kind of thick description needed inwriting culture (Van Maanen, 1988). One of the study participationorganisations the North Cyprus Tourism Office (NCTO) and its

UK-based directors acted as gatekeepers and provided readyaccess (Okumus, Altinay, & Roper, 2007) to a network of TourismMinistry and other government departments, tour operators, travelagents, hoteliers and airlines. Specifically, the principal investigator

attended 3 tourism advisory meetings and 16 sub-advisorycommittee meetings of the then nascent NCTO. The meetingsprovided a major opportunity to gather rich, qualitative data duringthe tourism policy and planning process. These meetings also

provided an opportunity for the principal investigator to select andinterview the full range of participants and so build up a clearpicture of the past as well as the present. Ninety two interviews

were also conducted to support the data generated from theobservation of meetings and increase the richness and enhance the

validity of the findings. Interviews were conducted with different

stakeholder groups including central government officials (minis-ters, members of parliament, mayors), hoteliers, travel agents,operators, airline company representatives, NGO representatives

(Civil Community [society] Associations, as they are known inNorth Cyprus) over a four year period Table 2.

Purposive sampling technique was utilized to select the infor-mants for the investigation. Purposive sampling enables researchers

to use their judgement to select people that will best enable them toanswer their research questions and to meet their objectives(Hemmington, 1999; Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2003). Infor-mants were chosen based on their experience, role and influence in

policymaking and implementation of policies in the tourismindustry. The purposely chosen sample included representatives ofdifferent views and thus enlarged the perspective, and added rich-

ness to the research.Some of the informants were personally known and some other

informants were approached through close friends and colleaguesso that research access (Okumus et al., 2007) to them could beachieved. The interviews included a consistent set of open-ended

and unstructured questions that were designed to elicit discussionsabout tourism development and the tourism policy and planningprocess, past and present allowing their voices to flow through. For

example, the lead field researcher asked government officials abouttourism plans, the degree of existing local participation in decision-making and cooperation and the nature of interrelations betweenagencies and government departments in the tourism planning

process, as well as about specific examples where this might havetaken place. They were also questioned about their understanding

of community-based and sustainable tourism development, whatthese terms meant to them, and whether or not they felt thateach approach was important (Appendix I shows main interviewquestions).

Acknowledging the close social proximity between some of

the actors and the principal investigator, the acquaintances andconversations were varied: headmen, local taxi drivers, shopkeepers, tour guides, street vendors, academics, officials working ingovernment offices, families and so forth all adding to the rich data

being gathered. The meetings with local people usually took theform of friendly conversations (Spradley, 1979:58) in traditionalMediterranean cafes (social spaces) where local people gathered to

drink coffee, play board or card games, and talk about issues in theirvillage, town or country.


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Table 2

Interviews with key stakeholders.

Central and Local Government

Status/Occupation of Interviewees Organisation

Statistics and Research Director State Planning Organisation, Prime Ministry

Former State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister And Tourism Minister Ministry of Tourism

Former Tourism Undersecretary Ministry of Tourism

Former State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister And Tourism Minister Ministry of Tourism

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Ministry Ministry of TourismFormer Tourism Undersecretary Ministry of Tourism

State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister And Tourism Minister Ministry of Tourism

Tourism Undersecretary Ministry of Tourism

Former Tourism Master Plan Coordinator, Now Tourism Research and

Development Unit Coordinator

Ministry of Tourism

Tourism Education and Training Coordinator Ministry of Tourism

Tourism Education and Training Officer Ministry of Tourism

Public Relations, Department of Marketing and Promotion Ministry of Tourism

Director of Marketing and Promotion Department Ministry of Tourism

Director of Tourism Planning Department Ministry of Tourism

Tourism Marketing and Promotion Officer Ministry of Tourism

Research and Development Unit Officer Ministry of Tourism

Tourism Planning Officer, Department of Tourism Planning Ministry of TourismTourism Planning Officer, Department of Tourism Planning Ministry of Tourism

Tourism Planning Officer, Department of Tourism Planning Ministry of Tourism

Executive Coordinator For Europe, North Cyprus Tourism Centre in London Ministry of Tourism

Former Tourism Representative For North Cyprus Tourism Office in London Ministry of TourismChief Town Planner, Department of Town Planning Deputy Prime Ministry and Tourism Ministry

Town Planner, Department of Town Planning Deputy Prime Ministry and Tourism Ministry

Director of Town Planning Office, Department of Town Planning Deputy Prime Ministry and Tourism Ministry

Transport Minister Ministry of Transport

Director of Department of Civil Aviation Ministry of Transport

Director of Department of Road Transport Ministry of Transport

Former Director of Interior and Housing Ministry Ministry of Interior and HousingEnvironment Conservation Officer, Department of Environment Protection Ministry of Health and Environment

Environment Conservation Officer, Department of Environment Protection Ministry of Health and Environment

Environment Conservation Officer, Department of Environment Protection Ministry of Health and EnvironmentEnvironment Conservation Officer, Department of Environment Protection Ministry of Health and Environment

Environment Conservation Officer, Department of Environment Protection, Ministry of Health and Environment

TRNC Representative in London, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defence

Interior and Rural Minister Ministry of Interior and Housing

Private Secretary to Interior and Rural Minister, also former Mayor of Kyrenia Ministry of Interior and Housing

Finance Attach to TRNC London Office Ministry of Economy and Finance

Director of Budget Ministry of Economy and FinanceCredit Officer, Development Bank Ministry of Economy and Finance

Culture Attach, TRNC London Office Ministry of Education and Culture

Chief Of ficer, Department of Antiquities and Museums Ministry of Education and Culture

Research Unit Officer Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Director of Evkaf Foundation Prime MinistryBoard of Director Evkaf Foundation Prime Ministry

Director of Communication and Architecture Department Kyrenia Municipality

Cultural Activity Organiser Kyrenia MunicipalityMayor of Alsancak, Kyrenia Alsancak Municipality

Member of Municipal Council Alsancak Municipality

Chief Worker Alsancak Municipality

Mayor of Lapta Lapta MunicipalityHoteliers

Owner and Director Acapulco Holiday Village (., 562 beds)

Owner and Director Celebrity & Chateau Lambusa (., 288 beds)

Managing Director Club Lapethos (., 230 Beds)

Manager Golden Bay Hotel (., 72)

Owner and Director Kyrenia Oscar Hotel (.

, 250 beds)Assistant Manager Mare Monte Hotel (., 188 beds)Owner and Director Pia Bella Hotel (., 72 Beds)

Owner and Director Top Set (., 54 beds)

Owner and Director Altinkaya Armoni (., 88 beds)

Owner and Director Ballapais Garden (., 34 beds)

Owner and director River Side Holiday Village (., 194 beds)

Managing Director Riviera Mokamp (., 68 beds)

Managing Director Green Coast Bungalows (., 74 beds)

Owner and Director Espiri Hotel Apartment (., 86 beds)

Owner and Director Club Simena (., 52 beds)

Owner and Director Kings Court (., 56 Beds)Travel Agents

Owner and Director, North Cyprus, Nicosia Tursan Tourism

Owner and Director North Cyprus, Kyrenia Ornek Tourism

Owner and Director North Cyprus, Kyrenia Apple TourOwner and Director North Cyprus, Kyrenia. Biral Tourism

(continued on next page)


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There is no one right way to analyze such voluminous quali-tative data (Miles & Huberman, 1994). They can be interpretative

and eclectic in nature and researchers can employ a tight, moretheoretically driven approach, or a loose, inductively orientedapproach (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Yin, 2003). For the present

study, both inductive and deductive data analysis modes wereemployed. A broad coding scheme was derived from the literaturereview. Much of the data analysis consisted of breaking down theinterview transcripts, observation notes as well as documentsinto manageable blocks in order to classify them under each code/

grouping. Fieldnotes were regrouped after further analysisaccording to the coding scheme. The original text was cross-refer-enced so that the source could be traced and the process ofabstraction could be examined and replicated. This was carried out

first by the principal investigator and then by the other researchers.Alongside the theory driven approach, the inductive mode ofanalysis was also employed which helped the researchers analyzethe data freely without following a framework or where the

coding schema was inappropriate. This was undertaken by re-

reading transcripts, fieldnotes and collected documents, identifyingemerging themes and incorporated them into the research find-ings. Overall, employing these two approaches helped to draw

meaning from the data and suggested ways of obtaining deeperinsights into the formulation and implementation of tourismdevelopment in North Cyprus. As the data were collected over

a long period of time, the majority of respondents were approachedand met again for further questions about the first interview. Theywere also updated about the progress of the project. Additionalfeedback gained from this second round was also incorporated into

the findings. Through these iterative data analysis processes a casestudy report (Yin, 2003) was developed and refined. Providinga thick (Geertz, 1973) or rich (Eisenhardt, 1989) description of theformulation and implementation of tourism development in North

Cyprus assisted in identifying key themes, issues and patterns. The

research findings presented below represent and highlight keyissues related to the tourism development in North Cyprus.

5. Findings

There are several approaches that could have been used topresent and discuss the data. However, there is an advantage ingrouping together sets of informants (rather than say, by emergent/topic theme or by frame analysis) in that a more holistic view isseen thus avoiding data fragmentation that could arise from these

other means of presentation (useful as they are for the analysisstage). In this case, the groups are divided into two logical cate-gories: core and peripheral influencers.

5.1. Core influencers (the political power base)

5.1.1. Government officials

At the outset, perhaps not surprisingly, Government depart-ments seemed unprepared for effective environmental planning.

Indeed, one informant, recalled:

We established a department and then we added the word envi-ronment to the existing Ministry of Health. Thus, having

established the Ministry of Health and Environment, we, asa department, beganfunctioning underthat institute.Our authoritywas limited to controlling environmental pollution and to theinspection of littering. Unlike other Environmental Conservation

Departments in the world, we were not given the authority ofEnvironment Impact Assessment (EIA), nor were we authorised tochoose environmental protection areas. Moreover, we did notconsider how to overcome the shortage of qualified personnel.

Since we did nothave environmental planners,we hired personnelfrom different branches, such as architects and civil engineers. We

acquired trained environmental engineers later on.

.

Table 2 (continued )

Central and Local Government

Status/Occupation of Interviewees Organisation

Airlines

Cyprus Turkish Airline Director of UK Office, In LondonCyprus Turkish Airline Company Secretary in UK, London

Istanbul Airline Marketing Manager, UK, London

Cyprus Turkish Airlines Assistance Finance Manager, North Cyprus Head Office

Tour OperatorsCTA Holidays Director of UK Office, In London

CTA Holidays Company Secretary in UK, London

Cyprus Paradise Owner and Managing Director, UK, London

Celebrity Holidays Manager UK, London

President Holidays Marketing Manager, UK, London

Anatolian Sky Owner and Managing Director, UK, Birmingham

Interest and Activity Holidays Owner and Managing Director, UK LondonNon-Governmental Organisations

Lecturer, Head of Tourism School Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta

Lecturer Department of Business and Economics, Eastern Mediterranean University,

Famagusta

Lecturer Tourism and Hospitality, American University

Secretary For Society of International Development Active member of North Cyprus Society For Protection of Birds and Nature and

Pro-Action for A Sustainable Development, North Cyprus, Kyrenia

Member of North Cyprus Construction and Architecture Chamber Association North Cyprus Construction and Architecture Chamber Association

President of Green Peace Action Group Green Peace Action Group

President of North Cyprus Hoteliers Association North Cyprus Hoteliers AssociationPresident of North Cyprus Travel Agents Association North Cyprus Travel Agents Association

President of North Cyprus Restaurant Owners Association Member of the

Association

North Cyprus Restaurant Owners Association

President of theSocietyFor Protection of Turtles in North Cyprus, alsorestaurantowner

The Society For Protection of Turtles in North Cyprus

General S ecr etary o f Turkish Municipality Association Turkish Municipality Association


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Later, up to June 1999, documentation shows that 37 EIA reportshad been dealt within accordance with EIA regulations. Of those 37

reports, 35 were approved and two were not approved. 23 ofthe discussed reports concerned tourism investments, twelveconcerned industrial investments and two concerned rock mining

(EPP&SCR, 1999:45). However, further interviews with the envi-ronmental planners of what was then called the Department ofEnvironmental Conservation emphasised that a number of prob-lems existed in the implementation of EIA reports in the TRNC. For

example, according to informants, EIA reports lacked a sufficientand reliable database and did not have technical tools andequipment. So, the EIA procedure could not be used effectively.

Furthermore, developers who saw the EIA report as a bureaucratichindrance asked politicians to pressurise the then Department ofEnvironmental Conservation to evaluate their EIA report quickly. Asone of the informants stated:

Our department has over 30 reports to work on. We are eval-uating these in order, one by one. But to do this we need time. In

some cases, we are pressurised by political bodies to speed upthe evaluations, and we are left in a situation where we have todo the evaluation in a hurry. Therefore, how well the evaluation

has been done is questionable.

A parliamentarian (in thegovernment) called me the other day. Someone he knew waswaiting for his report. We were asked to complete this imme-diately, so we had to work on that one, leaving aside the others.

So, it seems that there is a great pressure on the officials asa result of the demands of the developers. In addition, politicians

could easily change and even abolish some of the protective rules.The majority of informants claimed that the government policy wasnot always clear and could be contradictory. Political consider-

ations, as Hall (1994) and Hall and Jenkins (1995) also argue couldtake precedence over rational policy and consistency. Informantssometimes put it more strongly in the public sector, politicalvalues over-rode managerial values; and so long-term management

objectives were displaced for short-term political advantage.

Political leaders pushed ahead with projects and investmentswithout an efficient appraisal of the economic, environmental andsocial benefits to the local community. Within this pressurised

political context, it is clear that the implementation of sustainabledevelopment policies in the environmental and physical plans wasliable to change depending on the politicians attitudes and theirvalues.

In the TRNC, in general, there has been a top-to-bottom devel-opment administrative system. The Prime Minister and the Councilof Ministers are responsible for the preparation and implementa-tion of National Development Plans. Hall and Jenkins (1995) argue

that the sources of power in tourism policy, planning and promo-tion affect the location, structure and behaviour of agenciesresponsible for tourism policy formulation and implementation.

Indeed, the position of tourism in the bureaucratic structure of theTRNC political system has shifted in relation to the relative priori-ties of the government. But in recognition of the significance of thetourism industry to the TRNC economy and the impact of tourism

on the wealth of Turkish Cypriots the new government in 1993created a separate ministry, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) andtied it with the State Ministry and Deputy Prime Ministry.Integrating the Ministry of Tourism with the State Ministry and

Deputy Prime Ministry was seen as an important initiative. Asa senior official within the Ministry of Tourism put it:

There is neveran ideal way of organising government to balancetheinterestsof various people. Now,I am satisfied that we, withinthe Ministry of Tourism, have the mechanism to influence otherministries and various departments within other ministries,

because we have a tourism minister who also at the same time isthe State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the country.

However, all newMinistersand Undersecretaries have tended toapply their own policies. The officials say, among themselves, thatevery political party attempts to follow its own course. Indeed, as

one of the officials stated:

It is very important to have sustainability in tourism planning

and policies, but the sustainability of these is not enough. Thesustainability in the posts of those who plan, formulate andcarry out policies is also highly important. As governmentschange, undersecretaries and even bureaucrats change, too. As

a result of the planning and application differences between thenew and the previous team, the required national tourismpolicy is replaced by trial and error type tourism policies.

However, matters are not as clear as the informant suggests.Between 2001 and 1993, three ministers variously supported and

tried to implement the preparation of a Tourism Master Plan forinclusion in the Third Five-Year Development Plan (SPO, 2007). Thefirst ruling coalition drewup the draftof the plan, and the followingruling party completed the plan. The third ruling party began

work on its implementation. However, problems are occasionallyrecognised, as seen by the words of the Minister of Tourismregarding the implementation process in tourism planning theThird Five-Year Development Plan.

Some of ourproblems have become chronic. However, there is no

problem that cannot be solved through collaborative planning.The ministry and committee members have different duties, butwe will overcome the problems collaboratively and we willmanage to solve them. We cannot say that tourism is in a very

good situation. The important thing is to identify the situationweare in, to determine theproblems together with the sector, and to

plan what must be done to be able to achieve our goals.

Thus, it is accepted that the Tourism Development Plans was

merely a product and that planning was a continuous process. Weshould also mention here that most of ministry of tourism (stateminister and deputy prime ministers) have no or limited back-

ground and understanding of tourism development and sustain-ability. Plus bureaucrats and undersecretaries are also similar whoare appointed based on friendship and links with the ruling partyrather than their credentials. Given this it can be difficult to claim

that the tourism plans, policies and their implementation will bringbenefits and achieve some desirable outcomes.

5.1.2. Private sector

The private sector is represented by professional associationsdirectly involved in tourism for example, the Turkish CypriotHoteliers Association (KITOB), representing hotel employers andinvestors, and the Turkish Cypriot Travel Agencies Association

(KITSAB), representing the travel agenciesin the country. Both KITOBand KITSAB were actively consulted for the development andplanning of tourism in the Tourism Advisory and Sub-AdvisoryCommittees. For years, the two associations had lobbied the Ministry

of Tourismto preparea tourism master plan andcreate a platform onwhich they themselves could stand. With the successful acceptanceof their demands, it was apparent that they began to play a moreactive role in the tourism planning and development of the country.

However, during the Advisory Committee Meetingsthey particularlydrew attention to tourism promotion and marketing, so focusing ontheir own problems and marketing while discussing environ-mental plans and other specific areas of interest in tourism. The

priority to maintain the North Cypruss unspoiled nature and itshistorical and cultural beauty, which both associations included in


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their publications, was not observed to go beyond rhetoric. Theiremphasis was on how much money was required to attract a certain

number of tourists with a central market-led approach rather thanan approach that sought a sustainable optimum number of tourists.

On one hand, it can be stated that the formation of the Tourism

Advisory Committee and its Sub-Advisory Committee, as observedin action, represented a watershed in the planning process in NorthCyprus. On the other hand, one informant from a major hotelassociation commented that:

For years, tourism has been made into a patchwork andneglected ministry. Following this negligence, it was affiliated

under the Ministry of State and the Deputy Prime Ministry.Subsequently, the situation deteriorated even more due toeconomic disorder. In spite of its importance, tourism was dealt

with only at undersecretary level, and also became the victimof political instability in the coalition government period,reflecting the economy in general. Tourism was almost onthe verge of disappearing. Looking at the available data, the

inescapable conclusion is that tourism (became) a tool forpoliticians benefits.

The political culture does not change quickly, but at least the

committees involved the various stakeholders. The collaborativeplanning process described by Getz (1987) and others, that aims for

the participation of key stakeholders in tourism planning, began tobe applied in pre and post-planning, as well as during the planningprocess itself.

The most important purpose, within the meetings, was to

inform all people living in the island about the decisions takenand to obtain opinions and ideas, thus initiating a collaborative,participative process in implementing the policies in the ongoing

tourism plan. In initiating the Tourism Advisory Committee andSub-Advisory Committees, participation and consensus wereinitiated in order to implement the policies in the Tourism Devel-opment Plan (TRNC SM & DPM, 1998, 1999, 2000). In general, the

practices of these committees received a positive response from all

stakeholders, including hotel owners, agencies, restaurant owners,associations related to those, government officials and NGOs. Thedecisions taken based on participation and consensus principles

were transferred to action plan programmes.As a result, a tourism policy, within the TDP and Strategic Plan,

was aimed at promoting the preservation of the natural environ-ment and human heritage of the country and development of

cultural activities. It was agreed that sustainable tourism principleswould be used to guide all types of tourism development, andwould be aimed at producing sustainable tourism policies. Thesewould depend upon collaborative planning among participants

that integrated heritage-based tourism, cultural tourism and agrotourism alongside the sun, sea and sand tourism (TRNC SM & DPM,1998, 1999, 2000).

We have an advantage of not being overdeveloped, and ournatural resources have notbeenspoiled like other small islands in

the Mediterranean; especially we have learned fromthe mistakesof our neighbour [South Cyprus], our endeavours [in TourismDevelopment Plan, Advisory Committees] have been directedtowardsproducing policies based on plans and programmes with

a participatory understanding. Our North Cyprus tourism vision,in a general description, is sustainable and quality tourism andfor this prevailing understanding is conserve rather than exhaust,total quality rather than shoddy products.

This provides a positive final picture despite the political powerstruggle behind planning that also emerges from a more historicconsideration of the North Cyprus case.

5.2. Peripheral influencers

5.2.1. Publicly owned business

This section considers just one public organisation that was

actively involved in the tourism sector in the TRNC: the Vakif TrustKTTI Ltd. a company established in November 1974 to reactivatetourism facilities in North Cyprus, and to run and maintain theexisting hotels. In 1974, 43% of the total bed capacity (1492beds out

of 3488 total bed capacity) in North Cyprus was under the control ofthis company (SPO, 1996). For many years, the hotels belonging tothe company were either rented or sold to the private sector as partof the private sector encouragement and the governments priva-

tisation policy. This was not the case, though, for the Mare MonteHotel, with 188 beds. There were two reasons for such non-priva-tisation: first, a high number of local workers were employed there,and second, two ministers from the governing party possessed

a large vote potential in the region where it was located.Local organisations told the government that the people

working in the hotel, local inhabitants of the area would not votefor them at the coming elections. Consequently, the privatisation of

the hotel was prevented through pressure on the central politicalpower. Local people said that the reason for the demand to stay in

the public sector was that workers of government-owned hotelswere paid more and had better social security compared with thoseemployed in private sector hotels. Indeed, with regard to the MareMonte Hotel and other cases, it became clear from listening toinformants and from participant observation within the commu-

nity that the political culture of North Cyprus had allowedpoliticians to make rules and regulations in such a way as to be to

their own benefit. As stated by an informant:

politicians in this country want the public to appeal to them for

support even for the smallest things just because they like localpeople to say that I was not able to do it without that ministersor that parliamentarians help. Politicians think that in this waythey can increase the number of their votes. This is true; I myself

saw citizens voting by getting little help from a politician.

In relation to this problem, another informant stated that: Thiscountry is governed by the philosophy of the job for the man, notthe man for the job. The officials, NGOs, hotel owners (and travelagencies and other tourism organisations) and citizens blame this

political system for the difficulty in applying policies based onsustainable development principles, and for not solving manyproblems, including the lack of political recognition of the country.As one official stated:

We are asked to formulate and implement policy and planning

by politicians. This includes the sustainable developmentpolicies that we have formed in the development plans.However, we do not make the final decision. In reality, the finaldecision making is political and the implementation of the

policies and plans are done by politicians and not by us.

Manyof the problems in carrying outthe plans and the delays in

their implementation stem from political disputes and politicalbenefits and from political pressure on the people in charge,According to an informant who specifically indicated that it was

difficult to apply the concept of sustainability within the NorthCyprus political context:

I was appointed in 1989 and have remained in office for10 yearswithout being changed, the only director in this country not tobe so. I do not get involved in party politics much; I am a tech-nical man, only working in planning and implementation. If the

new government replaces me, a new person will be appointed.Naturally he will not know much about planning, and so there


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will be problems. When I look at the other departments, I cansee that the longest serving directors have been in service for 2

years at the most. You cannot come across anyone who hasworked there for 4 years. It is it not easy to get trained andexperienced as a director. If such a director is changed, there will

be problems, not only in implementation of plans or policies butalso in the whole department, and in all the other ministrydepartments involved in coordination and cooperation.

It is obviousthat the preparation and implementationof tourismplans and policies must be freed from the influence of politicians. Ifa generalisation is made at this point, in order to implement and to

apply sustainable tourism policies in any small-island state, itis necessary to consider and question the relationship betweenpolicies and politics.

5.2.2. Non-governmental organizations

Interviews with a selection of NGO leaders revealed that NGOswere also confronted with limitations of technical and financial

resources. In addition, it was observed that the NGOs in the TRNCwere restricted in their participation in the decision-making andimplementation process of government planning practices.

EPP&SCR (1999:43) reported that only 3% of the 897 organisa-tions, associations and foundations in the TRNC were involved withthe environment: The North Cyprus Society for Turtle Protection(NCSTP), the Society for International Development (SID), the Green

Peace Movement (GPM), the Lefke Society of Environment andPublicity, the Society of Environmental Conservation, the Society ofPro-Action, the Chamber of Turkish-Cypriot Engineers and Archi-tects, the National Preservation Trust, the Chamber of Town Plan-

ners and the North Cyprus Society for Bird Protection (KUSKOR). Ingeneral, the environmental NGOs may be said to be successful inraising issues related to pollution, the use of the coasts, birds,turtles, metal waste, and the use of agricultural chemicals. Unfor-

tunately, however, their contribution and influence could only beverbal and they had no active role in the decision-making process.As one informant stated .we are seen as a threat for politicians totheir ruling power. Therefore, NGOs achievements were restricted

for example, they reacted to external decisions. It wasevident thatboth the publicly owned businesses and the NGOs lacked politicalclout to have any major influence on sustainable planning and

development, their concerns being on far more local issues ofemployment at individual establishments or concern over a partic-ular issue. In a sense, the attitude emanating from can be charac-terised as fatalistic and powerlessness.

6. Discussion

The findings suggest that in order to understand the tourismpolicy and planning processes (especially in the present case,

environmental and sustainability aspects), it is necessary to con-textualise and problematize them in the political system and powerstructure of societyas a whole. Policyand planning in practice is theproduct of political influence. Hence, it is claimed that politicians

adopt a system of management based on their own values and ona policy that makes it possible for their party to survive or to stay inpower. As soon as the ruling political party changes, the new partygives priority to its own ideals, ignoring the policy of the preceding

one. What is more, it changes not only the Undersecretary, which ismerely a political position, but also all the officials at the top andlower level management, thus replacing them (to quote the officialsthemselves) with people supporting their own party. This, of

course, creates doubt concerning how tourism plans and policiescan be developed and implemented in SIDSthat have such a kind ofpolitical culture. Fig. 1 illustrates the inverse relationship betweenthe planning process and the pressures that shape it. Also seen in

Fig. 1 is the idea of the peripheral actors, NGOs, citizens, consumergroups and so on as the missing elements. Fig.1, provides a general

schema for the ways in which there is almost a hierarchy of deci-sions characterised by a range of influences.

In the case of TRNC, it can be seen that personal interests(especially in the form of ego-politics) have shaped development toa greater extent than public debates about sustainability and its

virtues in tourism development in North Cyprus. Fig. 2 shows howthe range of peripheral potential influencers ends up in a melting potof ideas that is, in the case of TRNC, inevitably mediated by politi-cians pursuing their own interests. For example, in the case of the

Alagadi special protected area, plans to restrict development in thearea provoked considerable local protest. People affected includedthose who had sought and in some cases gained permission to buildin the area and who then found themselves unable to do so. Popular

attitudes emerged which seemed to run counter to the doctrines of

sustainable tourism development theory. Here again is an exampleof private interests challenging public orthodoxies about sustain-ability. It is perhaps notenough for policy makers to follow the ideas

of scholars in the field and expect these to be put into practice insome quasi-magical way. The academic debates need to be placedwithin the day-to-day realities of, in this case, North Cyprus politics,economics and society. Therefore, the chances of sustainable tourism

development principles holding sway in North Cyprus will only

Fig. 1. Tourism planning inter-relationships: the vicious spiral.


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improve with three conditions. First, tourism development should tobe beneficial to a wide spectrum of actors particularly those withurgent and immediate needs, and especially as regards to employ-ment opportunities for local people. Secondly, there should be

a thriving and independent set of civil institutions, able and willingto provide a platform for voices in favour of conservation andlong-term protection of the environment. Finally, there should bea long-term and thoroughgoing programme of public education in

sustainable tourism development.All of this is underpinned by one theme that is insistent (even if

sometimes implied) throughout the study: tourism development in

North Cyprus is highly political. There is, of course, no surprise here.In many respects North Cyprus shares with other Mediterraneanisland destinations and SIDS more widely the idea that tourismdevelopment is a factor of considerable political importance. Allpolitical parties in North Cyprus are (necessarily) linked to the

politics of tourism development and that support groups arerewarded with planning permissions, rezoning, and other freedomsto develop tourismwithout a careful eye on long-term sustainability.

The political nature of tourism planning clearly emerges in the

emphasis placed in recent Master Plans to special interest tourism as opposed to mass tourism. The issue has several interlockingdimensions to it and derives in part from the relationship betweenNorth Cyprus and South Cyprus. Since 1974 there has been gradual

development in North Cyprus including tourism development.

South Cyprus, by contrast, has experienced wave upon wave ofdevelopment throughout the 1970s, 80s, 90s and into the 21st

century such that practically the entire coastline has become onecontinuous line of development a ribbonof concrete onemight say.

Faced with the mass tourism of South Cyprus, tourism special-ists (including those who contributed to the Tourism Master Plan)

and tourism authorities in North Cyprus are strongly disposed toadopt plans for special interest tourism. Such tourism would beaccommodated within relatively low intensity, environmentally

sensitive urban and rural landscapes. It would be distinguishedsharply in tourist minds with the type of tourism in South Cyprus.This would give North Cyprus a market advantage in the sense thatcompetition between the two parts of the island would not be

based on price alone. But it is hardly surprising that this issue

polarises elements of the private sector (especially hoteliers, travel

agents and tour operators) and the planners who are necessarily anarm of the political establishment. Moreover, it is increasinglydifficult for the planners to adopt a non-partisan approach totourism. The nature of tourism development in a microstate such as

North Cyprus is that it engenders political conflict and debatebetween different interest groups, one of these being the stateitself. Sustainable tourism development is an approach that isconsiderably easier to describe in the coolness of academic debate

than in the heat of the day-to-day demands of the politicaleconomy of a small-island state.

7. Conclusions

This paper has demonstrated how political obstacles (includingego-driven politics) can inhibit both the formulation and imple-mentation of sustainable tourism development in SIDS. There are

a number of overarching conclusions to be drawn from the case ofTRNC that have wider implications for planning and implementa-tion of tourism planning and implementation in similar destina-tions. First, much of the literature on sustainable tourism and

sustainable tourism planning suffers from being too removed fromthe real world of local concerns especially those of ordinary

citizens who are not part of a political elite or with the oftentimesmiddle class agenda expressed through NGO activity. The researchfindings and their discussions provide additional insights into theimportance of howpolitical obstacles can inhibit and shape tourismdevelopment in SIDs. Second, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the

whole notion of sustainable tourism (with all the economic andfinancial implications) is a political football involving groups withdivergent economic interests and state authorities that areassociated, however discretely, with particular political interests.

Third (linked very strongly to the first), the use in the tourismplanning literature of the term community is often misleading andnave. This is not the only work that has looked at tourism planningprocesses and concluded that the term community is a weak one.

But, the often-smooth connection made in the literature between

something described as community involvement and sustainabletourism is too simple. As mentioned earlier, peasant farmers andvillagers in the Alagadi special protected area were ill disposed to

ideas of sustainable tourism largely because protective statusmade it impossible forpeople to buildand develop property and, byso doing, to make money. The view, sometimes implied in theliterature, is that issues of sustainability revolve around conflicts of

interest between rich investors and developers wanting to getricher and poor locals wishing to develop agriculture and alter-native styles of development is shown to be somewhat simplistic.Fourth, planners cannot really do without a thoroughgoing study

of, and involvement with, the social, economic and political contextin which planning is carried out. In ways outlined earlier in thearticle planners need to engage with a wide spectrum of fields.

These include the social and educational as well as the political.Planning for sustainable tourism is not merely a technical matter.Planners, policy makers and academics first need to understandpast and current issues and developments, power structure and

culture in the governance of a destination in order to develop andimplement plans and policies successfully. By doing this, they maybe able to find ways and means to change and manipulate thepower structure, culture and key actors so that sustainable tourism

development and implementation can be viable.The focus of this article has been on the practices and principles

of sustainable tourism development in North Cyprus although it is

axiomatic that the study contains general lessons on sustainabletourism development in other SIDS with MIRAB economies. Butthe specific focus of the paper is with the relationship between the

concepts and ideas of sustainable tourism development and the

Fig. 2. Sublimation of wider needs under political ambitions.


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ways in which these are put into practice in North Cyprus soinvolving a political dimension. But much of the literature has been

found to be prescriptive theories about tourism development sufferfrom a tendency to be removed from the day-to-day realities andcontexts in which planning and policy are made and implemented

on the ground. The intervention of politics and the politicisationof the public sector at all levels were the main reasons given bymany informants for unresolved issues the reason why manypolicy and planning practices could not be implemented in North

Cyprus. For the majority of informants, elected politicians (who arefundamentally concerned with remaining in power) are interestedin capturing favoured status in the distribution of resources in

society. In order to do so they consciously seek to provide benefitsto a range of interests they believe will help them retain office.Theysystematically favour certain interests over others and theymaximise their returns from the allocation of public expenditure,

goods and services as a wayof attracting and rewarding supporters.In short, elected politicians (as well as appointed officials) seek touse public resources to stay in power, where the resources of thestate become an instrument for survival.

Evidence presented above clearly suggests that people havebuilt up views/attitudes in which tourism investments and envi-

ronmental conservation are contrary to each other. They do nothave a clear understanding that planning, environmental conser-vation, economic growth, and social development can concurrentlybe achieved. So, what is the response to the evidence from thefindings? Three things are suggested. The first is that tourism

development needs demonstrably, and at every stage of theprocess, to bring benefits not only to the investors but the widestpossible range of actors whose lives are touched by it. The second isthe need to encourage and promote a lively, critical, powerful and

independent set of civil institutions (some of them dedicated toplanning and conservation issues) whose function it is to providea voice for those concerned with conservation. The third is thatthere should be a thorough programme of public awareness at all

levels from formal primary education through to tertiary education

and beyond on the benefits of sustainable tourism planning. Eachof the above suggested strategies is equally important. If one ofthem does not exist, the implementation of sustainable tourism

development in SIDs may not be possible. It can be argued that thiscase study reveals a number of features that does not only lendempirical support but also provides additional insights into thebodyof work(Hall,1994, 2000; Hall & Jenkins,1995) that highlights

the inter-connectedness of politicsand tourism. It became apparentthat the development and implementation of sustainable tourismrequires new ways of thinking; an approach which incorporatespolitical processes, ideologies and cultures underpinning and

central to tourism planning and development. Understanding thepolitical ideologies, cultures and practices helps to determine theprominence given to tourism in planning, resource allocation,

decision-making and implementation. It is hoped that this studyilluminates both external and internal political challenges whichcould be faced by SIDs and highlight the options that other desti-nations in a similar position may consider as part of their approachto sustainable tourism development.

Appendix I. Interview Questions

What is the role of tourism planning in sustainable tourismdevelopment on the island?

Who is involved in tourism planning? What are their roles?

How do they develop plans to support sustainable tourism

policies?

Who and which aspects promote the development of plans?

Who and which aspects present obstacles?

How were the obstacles in planning overcome?

What are the barriers in front of the implementation ofsustainable tourism policies/plans once they are developed?

What are the implications of politics and power struggle

among different stakeholder groups for tourism planning anddevelopment?

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