Casino hotel operators and shop owners in Northern Cyprus are in dispute over visitors to the island, according to a local news report. The shop owners complain that the hotels do nothing to encourage tourists to venture further afield than the hotel grounds, ferrying guests in private vehicles, leaving other businesses with few opportunities to sell their merchandise or offer their services. The casinos counter the accusation by saying that retail outlets are too frequently closed, particularly after 6pm and weekends.

At a press conference last week the Finance Minister of the Turkish administered Northern Cyprus admitted that the linking of the casinos with money laundering activity by the U.K. and other European nations was hurting the tourism industry. The Minister of Tourism revealed that some 450,000 tourists visit annually but only around 110,000 are from beyond Turkey and Cyprus. Tourists contribute only $440 million to the economy annually, much less than the $2 billion that could be expected, and the casinos make around $15-20 million

It was also noted that the numbers of gamblers travelling to Cyprus have been falling. This could be an effect of the government’s recent measures to combat money laundering. Some visitors are believed now to prefer countries such as Bulgaria for gambling. In March this year a new law made it compulsory for casinos to declare earnings, pay higher rates for licences and have to fulfil a number of conditions to prove that money laundering is not taking place on their premises. (E-12.09.09)

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