ALTHOUGH slightly more than half of Greek Cypriots have visited the north since the checkpoints opened in April 2003, interest has been waning over the past few months, according to a new study published yesterday.
The study carried out by the College of Tourism also found that while over half of the 1,000 people polled had visited the north, almost two thirds felt it was inappropriate.
Of those who had visited, 55 per cent said they had only gone once while 21 per cent had visited twice.
Interestingly, the poll found 78 per cent said they had not bothered to cross over at all this summer, while 13 per cent said they had gone just once, five per cent had visited twice, two per cent had visited three times and another two per cent had visited four times or more. Almost everyone said they visited just for the day.
Of the 49 per cent who have not crossed at all, 35 per cent said they refused to show a passport or ID. Eleven per cent appeared totally uninterested in crossing over.
The biggest majority of Greek Cypriots who did cross (72 per cent) are refugees. “The data suggests that visiting the occupied areas is related to having a prior personal experience,” the report said. Only 31 per cent of Paphos district residents polled reported having visited the north.
“Despite the fact that half of Greek Cypriots have crossed the Green Line, a majority, 57 per cent, said they felt it was inappropriate,” said the survey. This mainly applied to the older generation, however, as 60 per cent of the 18-24s said they felt it was appropriate.
On the general state of tourism, 69 per cent of Greek Cypriots believe the industry is facing serious problems, with 85 per cent saying the island was too expensive as a destination. Around 12 per cent said it was due to people visiting the north and nine per cent cited poor service.
“The percentage of Greek Cypriots crossing the Green Line last summer, the number of times that they did cross, and the amount of time they spent in the occupied areas does not support the notion that Greek Cypriot tourism to the occupied areas is a major cause for the suffering of the industry in Cyprus,” the report said.
On Greek Cypriots holidaying habits, the survey found that nearly 60 per cent of all Cypriots went on holidays, with 57 per cent holidaying abroad, up from 55 per cent in 2003.
Most likely to holiday were Nicosia residents at 69 per cent, and urban dwellers in general at 64 per cent. Almost three quarters of the 18-24s took a holiday and around 76 per cent of the university educated.
About one third of Cypriots holidayed at home, and some 13 per cent took a holiday abroad and one at home. Most people took only one holiday a year but 22 per cent said they took two holidays a year, and four per cent said they took three holidays a year.
