Mustafa Şah, Head of Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts of Girne American University (GAU) and Tunis ERTAN, Vice President of GAU INTEB, discussed the potential effects of gastronomy art on the tourism potential of northern Cyprus in the television program they attended.

Whie GAÜ INTEB Vice President Tuncel ERTAN said: “We live in an island favorable in terms of climate for tourism. The occupancy rate of the hotels is given as 70% by the Ministry of Tourism in the same month. This is a pleasing rate for us. If the occupancy rate is so high in November, we believe that it will increase further in the coming summer months. We expect to see positive increases in visitor numbers. In these season, tourism has progressed. As TRNC, we attended an expo in UK for tourism. All the fairs we attended in the recent past have taken place with the concept of `Cyprus House`. Serious and beautiful steps are being taken. We train our students from the first year to the 4th year by experiencing with the industry. We base our curriculum on realistic simulations like `think yourself as a manager of a hotel` and `what do you do in the face of this problem` rather than a question-answer form. We are aware of the important roles of universities. We, as a tourism faculty, have many students from abroad. Especially, tourism and education are very important in Girne,” In the same program; GAU Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Department Head Mustafa Şah stated: “Culinary arts are very important in hotel and tourism, it’s the main path. Gastronomy has an important place in tourism. Eating-drinking culture is the biggest weakness of people. It is very important how we will best welcome the incoming tourist. We also need to reflect Cyprus Culinary Culture to the entertainment. As a Cypriot Culture, we have a cuisine where our very beautiful dishes take place. If the staff is well trained, your chances of welcoming tourists repeatedly will grow. To ensure satisfaction, each unit needs to work very well in the form of teamwork. Team spirit is crucial to success.”

GAÜ INTEB Vice-President Tuncel ERTAN stated that a special tourism branch has been revived by arousing a curiosity of the people with culturally specific dishes and one of the biggest trends of 2017 is 50 years and older men travelling more often and for this populace; personal care and spa practices has gained intensity. Ertan who said dullness of social media and technology is felt more in industry; “Environmentalist hotels are at the forefront. Without marketing, no business makes progress. Especially if tourism is the issue. If the professionals know the region and the product well, then it is good marketing. Health village projects also should not be forgotten,” stated.