Week 8 Discussion- Sustainability and Politics

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Tourism Management 31 (2010) 345–356

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Tourism Management

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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, UK b Department of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management, The Business School, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane Campus, Headington, Oxford OX3 OBP, UK c Centre for Tourism Policy Studies, University of Brighton, UK d 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

* Correspondence to. Tel.: þ44 1865 483832; fax: þ E-mail addresses: [email protected]

brookes.ac.uk (L. Altinay), [email protected] ucf.edu (F. Okumus).

0261-5177/$ – see front matter � 2009 Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2009.03.016

a b s t r a c t

This paper investigates ways in which political obstacles inhibit the formulation and implementation of sustainable tourism development in small-island developing states through the example of North Cyprus. 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 be a 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 therefore essential to have a clear understanding of political issues, key political actors’ interests and how to mitigate 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) have certain shared socio-economic and political characteristics, which place them in a very low position within the international political economy. The particularities of North Cyprus and its problems associated with political and economic isolation, institutional governance, and personalised political structures (Alipour & Kilic, 2005) can be located in a broader SIDS analytical narrative. These include communication and trading structures (such as physical distance from markets) that inflate the price of imports and place exports at a competitive disadvantage; labour markets characterised by a limited skills base and reliance on expatriates; limited land area and non-existence of extractive minerals (with a very few exceptions such as bauxite in Jamaica, gold in Fiji, and oil in Trinidad) coupled with 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).

44 1865 483878. m (M. Yasarata), laltinay@

(P. Burns), fokumus@mail.

All rights reserved.

The politics of tourism is a struggle for power and underpinned by the question cui bono (who benefits?) as Strange (1994), in discussing 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 of tourism 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 and political 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 given country. While the nature of planning seems to be somewhat decentralized in advanced economies (the so-called ‘developed world’), the opposite prevails in many developing countries, where tourism planning is often centralized and most decisions are made through government intervention rather than pluralism (Choi & Sirakaya, 2006; Inskeep, 1991; Tosun & Timothy, 2001). For example, Tosun (2000) claims that political structures or systems determine pre-conditions for participation in the tourism developing process. That is to say, the ruling elites of developing countries rationalise

M. Yasarata et al. / Tourism Management 31 (2010) 345–356346

their decisions under cover of bureaucratic traditions (Shamsul- Haque, 2007): unwilling to give up the potential for personal gain for the sake of community benefits. In line with these arguments, an assumption underpinning the present paper is that governments must communicate with and involve the local population in plan- ning and management decisions while offering a fair distribution of the 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 as tourism 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 alleviation and wealth creation. For example, while investigating and exploring the roots of unsustainable tourism development at local level in case of Urgup, Turkey, Tosun and Jenkins (1998) conclude that, short- sighted policies of political and economic expedience promoted the rapid emergence of mass tourism resulting in environmental degradation and weakened, fragmented social structures. This in turn resulted in the local community being disenfranchised and disconnected from the natural and economic resources upon which that type of tourism was built.

The implicit (rather than explicit) intellectual framework for the paper is entrenched in a number of sub-disciplines and conceptual areas including structuration, international political economy, the politics 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), this paper investigates how political obstacles inhibit formulation and 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 well rehearsed political problems between Turkish and Greek Cypriots and 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 position may consider as part of their approach to sustainable tourism development becomes more complex in a rapidly changing polit- ical and financial world.

2. Literature review

There have been a series of tourism planning paradigms that pertain to participation. Getz (1987) identified four broad approaches which can be thought of as a staged development of tourism 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 that the destination community plays in the tourism experience. Each tradition has had a different stimulus and explanation placing varying emphases on technical, economic, social, environmental and political issues.

As early as 1980 the UNWTO (1980) suggested that many tourism master plans were prepared but rarely implemented as intended (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, such plans are unrealistic with regard to the expectations of coordina- tion, cooperation and participation and political management. The sophisticated master planning approach of Gunn (1977) and Baud- Bovy (1982) have proven unwieldy; the complexity of tourism multipliers 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, rarely employed. However, although each tradition has proven essentially unworkable on its own, it has been argued that it is important to draw 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 all parties involved in the planning process to sustainable devel- opment principles. Only through such widespread commitment can 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 choose a strategy that not only reflects their political zeitgeist, but also one that 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 use a market-oriented approach, while the public sector tends to take a 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 come to see) and the commercial imperatives (both in terms of quick returns for investors and governments’ desire to generate tax revenues). This contradiction creates political complications for the development of sustainable tourism in any destination.

Watters (1984) describes the shape of such economies with the acronym MIRAB, which comprises: outward migration (MI); a dependence on high levels of remittances resulting from the migration (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 perhaps offshore banking, the only option for legal economic stability although it should be noted that SIDS are vulnerable to influence by criminal activities such as money laundering through casino gambling (NCSR, 2000) and the inevitable social problems caused by 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 in a whole range of economic circumstances (advanced, restructuring, post-conflict, post-colonial and so on) to recognise that sustainable development, including tourism, should meet stakeholder needs far beyond the simplistic dualism of those involved in supply and demand. Increasingly, communities that have a direct geographical, locational, political, or economic interest in tourism’s development have been placed central in the needs-satisfaction equation (cf. Burns & Novelli, 2008). The roots to this trend lay in the Brundtland report (1987), from which emerged the triangle of sustainable development (economic responsibility, social inclusion, environ- mental stewardship) that has become the bedrock of 21st century politico-environmental thinking (Gossling, 2003). This holistic approach to development, based in part on the optimism of pere- stroikaand glasnost as they paved the way for the end of the Cold War and what promised, at the time, to be a concordance of stability and international cooperation lay the foundations of a new political concurrence on environmentalism (broadly summarised as the Kyoto Agreement) which remains somewhat fuzzy but the climate change arguments of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change appears to be forcing inevitable agreement towards environmental matters and sustainability taking centre stage.

This trend applies to planning and implementation of sustainable tourism and the consideration of all socio-economic development as well as the interests of various stakeholder groups, or perhaps more

Table 1 Key statistical figures about the tourism industry in Northern Cyprus.

Years Foreign tourism demand (except for Turkey)

Tourism demand from Turkey

Total demand

Tourism income

% of GDP

Occupancy rate of hotels

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 37.3 1999 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 35.7 2004 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 31.0 2007 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).

M. Yasarata et al. / Tourism Management 31 (2010) 345–356 347

accurately, actors. Effective planning and implementation for sustainable tourism then, is dependent on the cooperation of many players and framed by its global condition of being multi-sectoral and framed by socio-political complexities (Burns, 2008). Choi and Sirakaya (2006), in particular, claim that sustainable tourism development inevitably generates political and power struggles over the equitable use of requisite physical, cultural, and financial resources 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 in some developing countries where decisions are manipulated and dominated by political elites and centralist bureaucrats.

Social structures, networks and interactions (cf. Giddens, 1984, theory of structuration) and the way the government and political structure is institutionalized in a country also have some bearing on the tourism development and implementation (Alipour & Kilic, 2005; Burns, 2004; Hall, 1994; Okumus & Karamustafa, 2005). The complex structure of society with its competing ‘actor totalities’ (Giddens, 1984), short-sighted political conflicts, frequent changes of 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 for SIDS can be seen as a relatively distinct subset in the debate surrounding tourism, its planning, and impacts. There are links to be drawn between corporate strategic thinking of multinational tourism 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 will often incorporate measures to diversify the economy, and typically have goals such as achieving fiscal stability by ensuring that an increasing proportion of the national budget comes from local sources (i.e. attempting to broaden the economy beyond MIRAB framed 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 dates back to the 1930s (Storrs, 1930), which peaked first in the 1960s. However, with the Turkish intervention in 1974 after a military coup in Cyprus, the subsequent political fracture of the island into a Turkish north and Greek south, tourism development was lopsided in favour of the south for almost four decades. 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 their physical conditions (EIU, 1995). Stephen (1997:32) captures the essence of the problem:

‘Economically isolated, the Turkish Cypriot community has found itself in a backwater as far as trade and industry and employment are concerned, and does not participate in the economic expan- sion of the country and the development of its resources. Many of the estimated 20,000 refugees and displaced persons in the Turkish Cypriot enclaves are unemployed, and their enforced idleness emphasises the isolation of the community, whose economy is sustained by financial assistance and relief supplies from Turkey. about one-third of the Turkish Cypriot population is estimated to need some form of welfare relief.’

The tourism industry has been one of the main sectors in Northern Cyprus economy. Key statistical data about the tourism industry in Northern Cyprus are presented in Table 1. There are over 850 tourism and hospitality businesses, most of which are small family 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 tourism industry contributed to the GDP of North Cyprus by $303.2 and $376.2 million in 2006 and 2007. The tourism industry created 8208 jobs in 2007 which is about 7% in the total employment (Ministry of Economics and Tourism, 2009). Main tourist markets have been Turkey, Britain and Germany. The annual occupancy rate for hospitality organisations was around 30% in 2007.

A comparison of North and South Cyprus through a range of standard macro-economic indicators shows, in most cases, a considerable comparative advantage for South Cyprus over North Cyprus. For example, GNP is nearly 10 times higher and GNP 2.5 times higher in 2003. With regard to main tourism indicators North Cyprus attracted relatively few tourists compared to South Cyprus in 2007 – indeed South Cyprus attracted more than seven times as many tourists (EIU, 2007). This resulted in comparatively low tourism revenue for the North. The latter also has an under-capacity of beds compared to South Cyprus. While South Cyprus has turned into a well-established destination, North Cyprus has struggled to 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 1974 it has been largely unplanned. Consequently, the indigenous flora and fauna have been damaged and are endangered. Moreover, tourism development has created architectural (visual) pollution and 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 Turkish tourists causes problems such as short average length of stay and a 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 quality and lack of or insufficient infrastructure. However, contrary to South Cyprus, North Cyprus does not suffer from the same level of negative impacts resulting from mass tourism (Altinay, 2000).

A consequence of the restricted tourism development in the north has been that the natural environment remained, for the most part, undisturbed (Altinay et al., 2002). However, the effects of

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political and economic semi-isolation as well as problems such as a 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 the coastal area of Kyrenia – where new hotels and villas are under construction – shows signs of transformation. But there is little doubt that North Cyprus is now at the threshold of rapid tourism development and in a sense this reinforces the environment at centre stage in the local tourism debate.

The environmental phenomenon, which arose as an interna- tional issue in the 1970s and which has been considered on different scales and in different arrangements has, since the late 1980s, assumed a position on the political agenda of the Turkish Republic 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, various public organisations have begun to develop and implement envi- ronmental policies.

The accident of history and politics that left North Cyprus out of the tourism development scramble that afflicted the rest of the Mediterranean may be an environmental silver lining to what seemed to be a development cloud. Consumer patterns and trends seem to indicate growing concern about the environment and the emergence of a rejection of spoilt, overdeveloped environments (Scottish Enterprise, 2003). This evidence clearly points towards the obvious developmental conclusion: if tourism is to be successful and sustained then North Cyprus’ natural and built environments must be conserved. The government has a major mediating role to play given the likely conflict between different actors that is bound to surround much tourism development in North Cyprus. The experience in South Cyprus of the late 1960s and early 1970s was an environmental catastrophe and amounted to the construction of a high buildings and concrete hotels along the length of sandy beaches in the whole of Cyprus (Andronikou, 1979). Though on a different scale, from the point of view of environ- mental destruction, the same mistakes were committed by the Greek 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 Third Five-Year Development Plan (TFYDP) was important in that it emphasised the main objectives and identified the main problems encountered by the Turkish Cypriot tourism industry (SPO, 1996:230–254). 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 of countries with one and another, thus making the foundation of new economic policies inevitable. The concept of development has been changing, and the environmental dimension, along with social and economic dimensions, has been reflected on development strategies. The processes of integration, taking place on a global scale, are intensifying the international tourism movements, thus raising the competition among tourism-based economies, and the rising environmental consciousness in our world makes up the main theme of this competition (SPO, 1996:230).

But the development and implementation of environmental planning and a sustainable approach to tourism development was until that time especially constrained by political realities resulting from its isolation.

4. Methods

The approach to data collection was framed by the ethnographic tradition of participant observation as it is particularly suited to observing interpersonal group processes. It focuses on the emic perspective in generating the kind of thick description needed in ‘writing culture’ (Van Maanen, 1988). One of the study participation organisations – the North Cyprus Tourism Office (NCTO) and its UK-based directors – acted as gatekeepers and provided ready access (Okumus, Altinay, & Roper, 2007) to a network of Tourism Ministry and other government departments, tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers and airlines. Specifically, the principal investigator attended 3 tourism advisory meetings and 16 sub-advisory committee meetings of the then nascent NCTO. The meetings provided a major opportunity to gather rich, qualitative data during the tourism policy and planning process. These meetings also provided an opportunity for the principal investigator to select and interview the full range of participants and so build up a clear picture of the past as well as the present. Ninety two interviews were also conducted to support the data generated from the observation 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 in North 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 to answer 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 tourism industry. The purposely chosen sample included representatives of different 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 colleagues so that research access (Okumus et al., 2007) to them could be achieved. The interviews included a consistent set of open-ended and unstructured questions that were designed to elicit discussions about tourism development and the tourism policy and planning process, past and present allowing their voices to flow through. For example, the lead field researcher asked government officials about tourism plans, the degree of existing local participation in decision- making and cooperation and the nature of interrelations between agencies and government departments in the tourism planning process, as well as about specific examples where this might have taken place. They were also questioned about their understanding of community-based and sustainable tourism development, what these terms meant to them, and whether or not they felt that each approach was important (Appendix I shows main interview questions).

Acknowledging the close social proximity between some of the actors and the principal investigator, the acquaintances and conversations were varied: headmen, local taxi drivers, shop keepers, tour guides, street vendors, academics, officials working in government offices, families and so forth all adding to the rich data being gathered. The meetings with local people usually took the form of ‘friendly conversations’ (Spradley, 1979:58) in traditional Mediterranean cafés (social spaces) where local people gathered to drink coffee, play board or card games, and talk about issues in their village, town or country.

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 Tourism Former 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 Tourism Tourism 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 Tourism Chief 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 Housing Environment 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 Environment Environment 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 Finance Credit Officer, Development Bank Ministry of Economy and Finance Culture Attach, TRNC London Office Ministry of Education and Culture Chief Officer, Department of Antiquities and Museums Ministry of Education and Culture Research Unit Officer Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Director of Evkaf Foundation Prime Ministry Board of Director Evkaf Foundation Prime Ministry Director of Communication and Architecture Department Kyrenia Municipality Cultural Activity Organiser Kyrenia Municipality Mayor of Alsancak, Kyrenia Alsancak Municipality Member of Municipal Council Alsancak Municipality Chief Worker Alsancak Municipality Mayor of Lapta Lapta Municipality Hoteliers 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 King’s 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 Tour Owner and Director North Cyprus, Kyrenia. Biral Tourism

(continued on next page)

M. Yasarata et al. / Tourism Management 31 (2010) 345–356 349

Table 2 (continued )

Central and Local Government

Status/Occupation of Interviewees Organisation

Airlines Cyprus Turkish Airline Director of UK Office, In London Cyprus Turkish Airline Company Secretary in UK, London Istanbul Airline Marketing Manager, UK, London Cyprus Turkish Airlines Assistance Finance Manager, North Cyprus Head Office Tour Operators CTA 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 London Non-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 Association President 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 the Society For Protection of Turtles in North Cyprus, also restaurant owner

The Society For Protection of Turtles in North Cyprus

General Secretary of Turkish Municipality Association Turkish Municipality Association

M. Yasarata et al. / Tourism Management 31 (2010) 345–356350

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’, more theoretically driven approach, or a ‘loose’, inductively oriented approach (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Yin, 2003). For the present study, both inductive and deductive data analysis modes were employed. A broad coding scheme was derived from the literature review. Much of the data analysis consisted of breaking down the interview transcripts, observation notes as well as documents into manageable blocks in order to classify them under each code/ grouping. Fieldnotes were regrouped after further analysis according to the coding scheme. The original text was cross-refer- enced so that the source could be traced and the process of abstraction 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 of analysis was also employed which helped the researchers analyze the data freely without following a framework or where the coding schema was inappropriate. This was undertaken by re- reading transcripts, fieldnotes and collected documents, identifying emerging 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 deeper insights into the formulation and implementation of tourism development in North Cyprus. As the data were collected over a long period of time, the majority of respondents were approached and met again for further questions about the first interview. They were also updated about the progress of the project. Additional feedback gained from this second round was also incorporated into the findings. Through these iterative data analysis processes a case study report (Yin, 2003) was developed and refined. Providing a ‘thick’ (Geertz, 1973) or ‘rich’ (Eisenhardt, 1989) description of the formulation and implementation of tourism development in North Cyprus assisted in identifying key themes, issues and patterns. The

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

5. Findings

There are several approaches that could have been used to present and discuss the data. However, there is an advantage in grouping together sets of informants (rather than say, by emergent/ topic theme or by frame analysis) in that a more holistic view is seen thus avoiding data fragmentation that could arise from these other means of presentation (useful as they are for the analysis stage). 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, as a department, began functioning under that institute. Our authority was limited to controlling environmental pollution and to the inspection of littering. Unlike other Environmental Conservation Departments in the world, we were not given the authority of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), nor were we authorised to choose environmental protection areas. Moreover, we did not consider how to overcome the shortage of qualified personnel. Since we did not have environmental planners, we hired personnel from different branches, such as architects and civil engineers. We acquired trained environmental engineers later on..’

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Later, up to June 1999, documentation shows that 37 EIA reports had been dealt within accordance with EIA regulations. Of those 37 reports, 35 were approved and two were not approved. 23 of the discussed reports concerned tourism investments, twelve concerned 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 of Environmental 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 sufficient and reliable database and did not have technical tools and equipment. So, the EIA procedure could not be used effectively. Furthermore, developers who saw the EIA report as a bureaucratic hindrance asked politicians to pressurise the then Department of Environmental Conservation to evaluate their EIA report quickly. As one 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 up the evaluations, and we are left in a situation where we have to do the evaluation in a hurry. Therefore, how well the evaluation has been done is questionable. A parliamentarian (in the government) called me the other day. Someone he knew was waiting 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 as a 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 was not always clear and could be contradictory. Political consider- ations, as Hall (1994) and Hall and Jenkins (1995) also argue could take precedence over rational policy and consistency. Informants sometimes put it more strongly – in the public sector, political values over-rode managerial values; and so long-term management objectives were displaced for short-term political advantage. Political leaders pushed ahead with projects and investments without an efficient appraisal of the economic, environmental and social benefits to the local community. Within this pressurised political context, it is clear that the implementation of sustainable development policies in the environmental and physical plans was liable to change depending on the politicians’ attitudes and their values.

In the TRNC, in general, there has been a top-to-bottom devel- opment administrative system. The Prime Minister and the Council of 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 agencies responsible for tourism policy formulation and implementation. Indeed, the position of tourism in the bureaucratic structure of the TRNC political system has shifted in relation to the relative priori- ties of the government. But in recognition of the significance of the tourism industry to the TRNC economy and the impact of tourism on the wealth of Turkish Cypriots the new government in 1993 created a separate ministry, the ‘Ministry of Tourism’ (MoT) and tied 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. As a senior official within the Ministry of Tourism put it:

‘There is never an ideal way of organising government to balance the interests of various people. Now, I am satisfied that we, within the Ministry of Tourism, have the mechanism to influence other ministries and various departments within other ministries,

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

However, all new Ministers and Undersecretaries have tended to apply their own policies. The officials say, among themselves, that ‘every 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. The sustainability in the posts of those who plan, formulate and carry out policies is also highly important. As governments change, undersecretaries and even bureaucrats change, too. As a result of the planning and application differences between the new and the previous team, the required ‘national tourism policy’ 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 for inclusion in the Third Five-Year Development Plan (SPO, 2007). The first ruling coalition drew up the draft of the plan, and the following ruling party completed the plan. The third ruling party began work on its implementation. However, problems are occasionally recognised, as seen by the words of the Minister of Tourism regarding the implementation process in tourism planning – the Third Five-Year Development Plan.

‘Some of our problems have become chronic. However, there is no problem that cannot be solved through collaborative planning. The ministry and committee members have different duties, but we will overcome the problems collaboratively and we will manage to solve them. We cannot say that tourism is in a very good situation. The important thing is to identify the situation we are in, to determine the problems 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. We should also mention here that most of ministry of tourism (state minister 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 who are appointed based on friendship and links with the ruling party rather than their credentials. Given this it can be difficult to claim that the tourism plans, policies and their implementation will bring benefits and achieve some desirable outcomes.

5.1.2. Private sector The private sector is represented by professional associations

directly involved in tourism – for example, the Turkish Cypriot Hoteliers Association (KITOB), representing hotel employers and investors, and the Turkish Cypriot Travel Agencies Association (KITSAB), representing the travel agencies in the country. Both KITOB and KITSAB were actively consulted for the development and planning of tourism in the Tourism Advisory and Sub-Advisory Committees. For years, the two associations had lobbied the Ministry of Tourism to prepare a tourism master plan and create a platform on which they themselves could stand. With the successful acceptance of their demands, it was apparent that they began to play a more active role in the tourism planning and development of the country. However, during the Advisory Committee Meetings they particularly drew attention to tourism promotion and marketing, so focusing on their own problems and marketing – while discussing environ- mental plans and other specific areas of interest in tourism. The priority to maintain the North Cyprus’s unspoiled nature and its historical and cultural beauty, which both associations included in

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their publications, was not observed to go beyond rhetoric. Their emphasis was on how much money was required to attract a certain number of tourists – with a central market-led approach rather than an 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 observed in action, represented a watershed in the planning process in North Cyprus. On the other hand, one informant from a major hotel association commented that:

‘For years, tourism has been made into a patchwork and neglected ministry. Following this negligence, it was affiliated under the Ministry of State and the Deputy Prime Ministry. Subsequently, the situation deteriorated even more due to economic disorder. In spite of its importance, tourism was dealt with only at ‘undersecretary’ level, and also became the victim of political instability in the coalition government period, reflecting the economy in general. Tourism was almost on the verge of disappearing. Looking at the available data, the inescapable conclusion is that tourism (became) a tool for politicians’ benefits.’

The political culture does not change quickly, but at least the committees involved the various stakeholders. The collaborative planning process described by Getz (1987) and others, that aims for the participation of key stakeholders in tourism planning, began to be applied in pre and post-planning, as well as during the planning process itself.

The most important purpose, within the meetings, was to inform all people living in the island about the decisions taken and 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 and Sub-Advisory Committees, participation and consensus were initiated 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. The decisions 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 principles would be used to guide all types of tourism development, and would be aimed at producing sustainable tourism policies. These would depend upon collaborative planning among participants that integrated heritage-based tourism, cultural tourism and agro tourism alongside the sun, sea and sand tourism (TRNC SM & DPM, 1998, 1999, 2000).

‘We have an advantage of not being overdeveloped, and our natural resources have not been spoiled like other small islands in the Mediterranean; especially we have learned from the mistakes of our neighbour [South Cyprus], our endeavours [in Tourism Development Plan, Advisory Committees] have been directed towards producing policies based on plans and programmes with a participatory understanding. Our North Cyprus tourism vision, in a general description, is ‘sustainable and quality tourism’ and for this prevailing understanding is conserve rather than exhaust, total quality rather than shoddy products.’

This provides a positive final picture despite the political power struggle behind planning that also emerges from a more historic consideration 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 Trust KTTI Ltd. – a company established in November 1974 to reactivate tourism facilities in North Cyprus, and to run and maintain the existing hotels. In 1974, 43% of the total bed capacity (1492 beds out of 3488 total bed capacity) in North Cyprus was under the control of this company (SPO, 1996). For many years, the hotels belonging to the company were either rented or sold to the private sector as part of the private sector encouragement and the government’s priva- tisation policy. This was not the case, though, for the Mare Monte Hotel, 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 vote for them at the coming elections. Consequently, the privatisation of the hotel was prevented through pressure on the central political power. Local people said that the reason for the demand to stay in the public sector was that workers of government-owned hotels were paid more and had better social security compared with those employed in private sector hotels. Indeed, with regard to the Mare Monte Hotel and other cases, it became clear from listening to informants and from participant observation within the commu- nity that the political culture of North Cyprus had allowed politicians 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 local people to say that ‘I was not able to do it without that minister’s or that parliamentarian’s help.’ Politicians think that in this way they 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: ‘This country is governed by the philosophy of the job for the man, not the man for the job.’ The officials, NGOs, hotel owners (and travel agencies and other tourism organisations) and citizens blame this political system for the difficulty in applying policies based on sustainable development principles, and for not solving many problems, 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 development policies that we have formed in the development plans. However, we do not make the final decision. In reality, the final decision making is political and the implementation of the policies and plans are done by politicians and not by us.’

Many of the problems in carrying out the plans and the delays in their implementation stem from political disputes and political benefits – 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 North Cyprus political context:

‘I was appointed in 1989 and have remained in office for 10 years without being changed, the only director in this country not to be 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 can see that the longest serving directors have been in service for 2 years at the most. You cannot come across anyone who has worked there for 4 years. It is it not easy to get trained and experienced as a director. If such a director is changed, there will be problems, not only in implementation of plans or policies but also in the whole department, and in all the other ministry departments involved in coordination and cooperation.’

It is obvious that the preparation and implementation of tourism plans and policies must be freed from the influence of politicians. If a generalisation is made at this point, in order to implement and to apply sustainable tourism policies in any small-island state, it is necessary to consider and question the relationship between policies and politics.

5.2.2. Non-governmental organizations Interviews with a selection of NGO leaders revealed that NGOs

were also confronted with limitations of technical and financial resources. In addition, it was observed that the NGOs in the TRNC were restricted in their participation in the decision-making and implementation 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 with the 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 and Publicity, the Society of Environmental Conservation, the Society of Pro-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). In general, the environmental NGOs may be said to be successful in raising 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 be verbal and they had no active role in the decision-making process. As one informant stated ‘.we are seen as a threat for politicians to their ruling power.’ Therefore, NGOs’ achievements were restricted – for example, they reacted to external decisions. It was evident that both the publicly owned businesses and the NGOs lacked political clout to have any major influence on sustainable planning and development, their concerns being on far more local issues of employment 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.

Fig. 1. Tourism planning inter-rela

6. Discussion

The findings suggest that in order to understand the tourism policy 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 power structure of society as a whole. Policy and planning in practice is the product of political influence. Hence, it is claimed that politicians adopt a system of management based on their own values and on a policy that makes it possible for their party to survive or to stay in power. As soon as the ruling political party changes, the new party gives priority to its own ideals, ignoring the policy of the preceding one. What is more, it changes not only the Undersecretary, which is merely a political position, but also all the officials at the top and lower level management, thus replacing them (to quote the officials themselves) with ‘people supporting their own party’. This, of course, creates doubt concerning how tourism plans and policies can be developed and implemented in SIDS that have such a kind of political culture. Fig. 1 illustrates the inverse relationship between the planning process and the pressures that shape it. Also seen in Fig. 1 is the idea of the peripheral actors, NGOs, citizens, consumer groups 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 to a greater extent than public debates about sustainability and its virtues in tourism development in North Cyprus. Fig. 2 shows how the range of peripheral potential influencers ends up in a melting pot of 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 the area provoked considerable local protest. People affected included those who had sought and in some cases gained permission to build in 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 example of private interests challenging public orthodoxies about sustain- ability. It is perhaps not enough for policy makers to follow the ideas of scholars in the field and expect these to be put into practice in some quasi-magical way. The academic debates need to be placed within 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

tionships: the vicious spiral.

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

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improve with three conditions. First, tourism development should to be beneficial to a wide spectrum of actors – particularly those with urgent 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 willing to provide a platform for voices in favour of conservation and long-term protection of the environment. Finally, there should be a 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 Mediterranean island destinations and SIDS more widely the idea that tourism development is a factor of considerable political importance. All political parties in North Cyprus are (necessarily) linked to the politics of tourism development and that support groups are ‘rewarded’ with planning permissions, rezoning, and other freedoms to develop tourism without 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 interlocking dimensions to it and derives in part from the relationship between North 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 of development throughout the 1970s, 80s, 90s and into the 21st century such that practically the entire coastline has become one continuous line of development – a ribbon of concrete one might 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 to adopt plans for ’special interest’ tourism. Such tourism would be accommodated within relatively low intensity, environmentally sensitive urban and rural landscapes. It would be distinguished sharply in tourist minds with the type of tourism in South Cyprus. This would give North Cyprus a market advantage in the sense that competition 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 an arm of the political establishment. Moreover, it is increasingly difficult for the planners to adopt a non-partisan approach to tourism. The nature of tourism development in a microstate such as North Cyprus is that it engenders political conflict and debate between different interest groups, one of these being the state itself. Sustainable tourism development is an approach that is considerably easier to describe in the coolness of academic debate than in the heat of the day-to-day demands of the political economy of a small-island state.

7. Conclusions

This paper has demonstrated how political obstacles (including ego-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 of TRNC 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 from the real world of local concerns – especially those of ordinary citizens who are not part of a political elite or with the oftentimes middle class agenda expressed through NGO activity. The research findings and their discussions provide additional insights into the importance of how political obstacles can inhibit and shape tourism development in SIDs. Second, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the whole notion of sustainable tourism (with all the economic and financial implications) is a political football involving groups with divergent economic interests – and state authorities that are associated, however discretely, with particular political interests. Third (linked very strongly to the first), the use in the tourism planning literature of the term ‘community’ is often misleading and naı̈ve. This is not the only work that has looked at tourism planning processes 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 sustainable tourism is too simple. As mentioned earlier, peasant farmers and villagers in the Alagadi special protected area were ill disposed to ideas of sustainable tourism – largely because protective status made it impossible for people to build and develop property and, by so doing, to make money. The view, sometimes implied in the literature, is that issues of sustainability revolve around conflicts of interest between rich investors and developers wanting to get richer – 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 context in which planning is carried out. In ways outlined earlier in the article 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 understand past and current issues and developments, power structure and culture in the governance of a destination in order to develop and implement plans and policies successfully. By doing this, they may be able to find ways and means to change and manipulate the power 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 sustainable tourism development in other SIDS with MIRAB economies. But the specific focus of the paper is with the relationship between the concepts and ideas of sustainable tourism development and the

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ways in which these are put into practice in North Cyprus – so involving a political dimension. But much of the literature has been found to be prescriptive theories about tourism development suffer from a tendency to be removed from the day-to-day realities and contexts in which planning and policy are made and implemented on the ground. The ‘intervention of politics’ and the ‘politicisation of the public sector’ at all levels were the main reasons given by many informants for unresolved issues – the reason why many policy and planning practices could not be implemented in North Cyprus. For the majority of informants, elected politicians (who are fundamentally concerned with remaining in power) are interested in capturing favoured status in the distribution of resources in society. In order to do so they consciously seek to provide benefits to a range of interests they believe will help them retain office. They systematically favour certain interests over others – and they maximise their returns from the allocation of public expenditure, goods and services as a way of attracting and rewarding supporters. In short, elected politicians (as well as appointed officials) seek to use public resources to stay in power, where the resources of the state become an instrument for survival.

Evidence presented above clearly suggests that people have built up views/attitudes in which tourism investments and envi- ronmental conservation are contrary to each other. They do not have a clear understanding that planning, environmental conser- vation, economic growth, and social development can concurrently be achieved. So, what is the response to the evidence from the findings? Three things are suggested. The first is that tourism development needs demonstrably, and at every stage of the process, to bring benefits not only to the investors but the widest possible range of actors whose lives are touched by it. The second is the need to encourage and promote a lively, critical, powerful and independent set of civil institutions (some of them dedicated to planning and conservation issues) whose function it is to provide a voice for those concerned with conservation. The third is that there 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. Each of the above suggested strategies is equally important. If one of them does not exist, the implementation of sustainable tourism development in SIDs may not be possible. It can be argued that this case study reveals a number of features that does not only lend empirical support but also provides additional insights into the body of work (Hall, 1994, 2000; Hall & Jenkins, 1995) that highlights the inter-connectedness of politics and tourism. It became apparent that the development and implementation of sustainable tourism requires new ways of thinking; an approach which incorporates political processes, ideologies and cultures underpinning and central to tourism planning and development. Understanding the political ideologies, cultures and practices helps to determine the prominence given to tourism in planning, resource allocation, decision-making and implementation. It is hoped that this study illuminates both external and internal political challenges which could be faced by SIDs and highlight the options that other desti- nations in a similar position may consider as part of their approach to sustainable tourism development.

Appendix I. Interview Questions

� What is the role of tourism planning in sustainable tourism development 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 of

sustainable tourism policies/plans once they are developed? � What are the implications of politics and power struggle

among different stakeholder groups for tourism planning and development?

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