Ahmet Savaşan, President of the Cyprus Health Tourism Council, stated that recent political developments have increased the touristic potential of Varosha. In his written statement on the subject, Savaşan said, “Looking at the examples of Pripyat, where the Chernobyl disaster took place, and many other ‘ghost cities’, it offers a very important opportunity for the tours to be organized to Closed Maraş, a part of which has been opened, to provide a new and important breath of fresh air to the tourism sector, which is going through hard times due to the Covid-19 outbreak.” Savaşan noted that if both the state and tourism professionals take action on this issue without delay and work in coordination, millions of Euros of income can be brought to Famagusta in particular and to the country in general. Ahmet Savaşan pointed out that the ghost cities in the world, which have emerged either after wars, due to the cessation of production or nuclear accidents, or because they could not be opened to settlement, attract attention with their impressive stories, and emphasized that these “ghost cities are becoming more and more popular with tourists every day.
MARAS' EXISTING TOURISM POTENTIAL SHOULD BE UTILIZED
Stating that there are many countries in the world that take this trend into account and turn to this alternative tourism field, Savaşan noted that with the opening of Closed Maraş, which has been the center of attention for many years and has been on the agenda of the international press, the way was paved for the utilization of this potential.
MARAS SHOULD ALSO BE UTILIZED FOR TOURISM THIS WINTER
“This naturally creates a sense of curiosity. Recent political developments have further fueled this curiosity. I believe that observation tours to be organized to Closed Maraş within the limits of the pandemic conditions can be an important source of income for the tourism sector, which is already going through difficult times.” Savaşan pointed out the importance of evaluating this issue at an early stage and taking the necessary steps to include Maraş in winter tourism with the coordination of the state and tourism professionals.
TURKEY HAS THE BIGGEST TOURIST POTENTIAL FOR MARAS IN THE SHORT TERM
Stating that special interest tourism segments should be evaluated according to the possibilities and location of each country, Ahmet Savaşan, President of the Health Tourism Council, said: “We should make the best use of the opportunities we have and find ways to provide the difficulties we may experience in providing tourists from other countries in the short term from the Turkish market where we can make direct flights. Closed Maraş tours will make an important contribution in this context.”.
