British Turkish Cypriots Prefer Larnaca and Paphos Airports Over Ercan

Four out of five British Turkish Cypriots traveling to Cyprus are opting to fly into Larnaca or Paphos airports instead of Ercan Airport, according to CTP ‘MP’ Sami Ozuslu’s statement on Saturday.

He referenced data released earlier this month, indicating that only 14,237 British nationals arrived in the TRNC by air and sea during the first half of the year, including 4,494 British Turkish Cypriots.

Ozuslu highlighted that 568,811 British nationals were recorded arriving from South Cyprus during the same period.

“In other words, this is 40 times more than those who came to Ercan!” he remarked.

He further noted that in those six months, approximately 142,000 British nationals who arrived in South Cyprus crossed into the TRNC, with around 19,000 of them being British Turkish Cypriots.

“In other words, only one out of every five Turkish Cypriots living in the UK and visiting the island chose Ercan. Eighty percent preferred Larnaca or Paphos airport,” he stated.

Ozuslu also pointed out the low number of British nationals traveling to Northern Cyprus who stayed overnight in hotels.

“In the first six months of 2024, only 11,000, or just seven percent, of the 156,000 British citizens who came to Northern Cyprus stayed in tourist accommodations.

“We can assume that British Turkish Cypriots mostly stay in their own or their families’ houses, and some British people might be staying in rented houses here. However, if around 25,000 British Cypriots and 130,000 British people come to the north, but the rate of those staying in hotels is so low, we have serious problems,” he emphasized.