Govt vague over Tui ‘deal’ to stop tourism to north

The government on Wednesday remained decidedly vague over a reported “deal” struck with tour operator Tui which resulted in Tui reportedly ending its operation of day-trip excursions to the north.

Deputy tourism minister Costas Koumis skirted around the subject on CyBC radio on Wednesday morning, saying the Republic of Cyprus had not “violated the Green Line regulation” and that his deputy ministry “does not cooperate with any organisation which promotes a programme for tourists to stay in the occupied territories”.

Pressed further on the matter, he added that “we work with a large number of organisations, but I do not think it is right to make statements about an agreement which concerns two parties.”

He continued down this line later in the day, telling the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that “we never choose to make any information public”.

Koumis’ statements come a day after Turkish Cypriots reacted furiously to reports of a deal, which included a screenshot of an email which was reportedly sent by Tui’s operations team manager on the island to local guides.

“Tui has come to an agreement with [the] Cyprus government to stop promoting and selling excursions to [the] northern occupied side of Cyprus. This applies to all languages and all excursions where we currently cross the border to the north,” the Tui announcement reportedly said.

Additionally, Tui’s website now lists its “Northern Cyprus Tour with Famagusta, Salamis, and Kyrenia” day trip package as “sold out”.

Turkish Cypriot restauranteurs’ association (Res-Bir) board member Cemal Gulercan told newspaper Kibris on Tuesday that the reported deal is “malicious”.

“This decision aims to limit tourism activities in North Cyprus and is an action which has shaken the peace and trust between the two communities,” he said.

Earlier, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar had also expressed his disgust at the reported deal.

He said the Republic is “blackmailing” tour operators, and that “this situation once again reveals the true intentions of the Greek Cypriot leader [Nikos Christodoulides] and therefore the Greek Cypriot administration regarding Cyprus’ future.”

Koumis’ statements also come amid rumours of potential ramifications for Tui in Turkey.

A total of 2.2 million people travelled on holiday to Turkey with Tui in 2023 – a number which is said to account for up to one in five Tui customers worldwide.

Reports in the Turkish Cypriot and Turkish media on Wednesday suggested that the Turkish government may now react to the use of the word “occupied” in the reported email, as well as to the ending of the excursions’ operation, though it is as yet unclear what such a reaction would entail.