Mehmet Altinay

Political scenarios: the future of the North Cyprus tourism industry

The North Cyprus tourism industry has been sensitive to the political instability on the island, which has arisen from the political problems between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots. Economic integration with Turkey and federation with the Greek Cypriots are considered to be two alternative political solutions. This paper evaluates the possible impacts of these two political scenarios on the tourism industry of North Cyprus by using semi‐structured interviews with experts and senior managers. Findings suggest that although economic integration has already been implemented to an extent, it has not contributed to the development of the tourism industry of North Cyprus as hoped. A federal solution to the Cyprus problem is expected to have a more favourable impact on the tourism industry of North Cyprus. Thus, long‐term benefits of the North Cyprus tourism industry lie with a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.

Sustainable tourism development: a case study of North Cyprus

Purpose – The aim of this study is to find out the perceptions of tourism experts on environmental impacts of accommodation investments in Bafra, Karpaz region.Design/methodology/approach – Environmental impact assessment model is used to find out the impacts and a structured questionnaire is applied to tourism industry experts: top administrators of the concerned public offices, the representatives of related nongovernmental organizations, and the local administrators working in North Cyprus at various organizations.Findings – The preliminary findings of this research indicate that the most likely environmental impact of tourism is related with waste disposal, garbage treatment facilities and waste discharge by ships passing through the sea.Research limitations/implications – The present study is primarily focused on the virgin part of North Cyprus in which investors are most interested.Originality/value – This study serve as a guide for the state for policy planning and can serve as a guide to the const...

The influence of organisational structure on entrepreneurial orientation and expansion performance

This paper fills a gap in the research undertaken into the influence of organisational structure on entrepreneurial orientation and expansion performance. The expansion decision‐making process of an international hotel group was investigated. In‐depth interviews, observations and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques. Findings suggest that the concern about protecting and developing internationally recognised brands profitably caused the organisation to be remarkably centralised. A centralised decision‐making structure, however, not only slowed down the decision‐making process and limited international expansion, but also resulted in frustration and de‐motivation among the market‐based organisational members who were responsible for international expansion. The paper therefore concludes that organisations whose growth performance is highly dependent on having market‐based organisational members in diverse host country environments need to structure differently and bring about a new way of thinking to the management.

How will growth be financed by the international hotel companies

This paper presents a set of secondary findings about the environmental factors influencing the international expansion plans of Bass Hotels and Resorts. Literature indicates that different factors in the business environment influence decisions of the organizations as they plan expansion into new international markets. A case study approach was chosen for this study to investigate these issues and the organization was researched from the outside through company publications and analyst reports. The findings of this study reveal that capital markets and the host country hotel market conditions play the determinant role in the expansion plans of the hotel organization. This paper evaluates these factors and discusses their influence on the organization’s expansion decisions.

Competitive strategies for the tourism sector of a small island state: The case of North Cyprus

The purpose of this study is to investigate the competitiveness of the tourism sector of the Turkish Republic of Northem Cyprus (TRNC) against its main rival, the tourism sector of South Cyprus and develop strategies to upgradc competitiveness. Findings are based on the opinions of the experts and the top excutives. The survey which was carried out in three stages also identified the strengths and weaknesses of the TRNC tourism sector. The study is conduded with the strategies to be followed to keep up the strengths and cure the weaknesses of the tourism sector of the TRNC.

The Impact of (more) Enlargement on the European Employment Strategy

The European Union (EU) aspires to be the most competitive, full employment economy in the world and has set a number of ambitious targets to be met by 2010 in order that it can achieve this goal. At the same time, it is pursuing an enlargement policy that will witness the accession of an increasing number of less developed nations. This article explores some of the tensions that exist between these two goals as these are manifest in labour market indicators and finds the likelihood of meeting the deadline set for success remote.

Behavioral intentions of disabled tourists for the use of peer-to-peer accommodations

Purpose This paper aims to examine the causal models that predict disabled tourists’ behavioral intentions to use peer-to-peer (p2p) accommodations. This study also explores the causal models through complex combinations of demographic factors, host attributes and the levels of perceived charm, convenience and other service features of the accommodations as a means of describing disabled tourists’ behavioral outcomes. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was administrated to measure the study variables. Using the convenience sampling technique, the questionnaires were distributed among disabled individuals with orthopedic disorders who reside in North Cyprus in May 2016. The five respondents were later interviewed about their needs and expectations from p2p accommodations. A set of preliminary tests (for both reliability and validity) was conducted, and descriptive statistics were used based on the scale items. Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to test the proposed research model, which revealed sufficient and consistent conditions leading to behavioral intentions of disabled tourists in their use of p2p accommodations. The predictive validity of the model was then tested. Finally, the results of the fsQCA were evaluated based on the key tenets of complexity theory. Findings The findings reveal under which conditions disabled tourists tend to use p2p accommodations. This empirical study has relied upon the use of causal models integrating combinations of demographic variables and host and accommodation place attributes (i.e. charm, convenience and service features) which were put forth as sufficient predictive configurations of the behavioral outcomes of disabled tourists within the context of a sharing economy. Ultimately, this study finds that p2p customers are not limited to travelers with low income levels. Research limitations/implications The views of people with orthopedic problems in North Cyprus were obtained for testing the configurational model, which means that the results do not necessarily represent a large range of customers’ perspectives. Although this limitation was addressed through the application of a powerful compensatory analytical approach (fsQCA), it is advised that data from tourists with various types of disabilities in other countries be collected for future studies. Practical implications The results of this study provide practical implications for hosts on how to combine accommodation place characteristics (e.g. charm, convenience and service) with their own personal attributes (e.g. knowledge and eagerness) to bolster the disabled tourists’ intentions to use p2p accommodations. It is hoped that the results of the fsQCA using the demographic variables presented here will guide businesses toward performing target marketing. This is useful for hosts who wish to attract more disabled tourists, a profitable segment of the market. Social implications This study draws social attention to the disabled tourists as potential customers in the sharing economy. Conducting an empirical study that considers the social inclusion of tourists with disabilities in the emerging version of hospitality business is helpful to both the supply and demand sides. Originality/value To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first empirical study that investigates the indicators of disabled tourists’ intentions to use p2p accommodations. This study also adds to the current literature by modeling the behavioral intentions of disabled tourists within a sharing economy using a pragmatic and set-theoretic approach (i.e. fsQCA in conjunction with complexity theory).

Interactions between Energy Consumption and Imports: Empirical Evidence from Turkey

ABSTRACT The present study investigates interactions between imports and energy consumption in the case of Turkey, which heavily depends on enervngy imports over the years. Empirical results reveal that energy consumption exerts significant effects on imports both in the long-term and short-term periods. Results from causality, impulse responses, and variance decompositions do also show that energy consumption exerts significant effects on real income and real exchange rates in Turkey. The major findings of this study reveal that alternative local energy sources and renewable energy sources are needed in order to reduce foreign import dependency and current account deficits in Turkey.

Interactions between tourism and financial sector development: evidence from Turkey

ABSTRACT This article aims to examine the interactions between tourism growth and financial development in Turkey, which is a top tourist destination and has developed a well-functioning financial system over the last decade. The results confirm a long-term association between tourism development and financial development; foreign direct investments and foreign trade also impact this interaction. According to the results, tourism expansion in Turkey is mainly influenced by financial markets. The results also reveal that in Turkey, changes in tourism volume precede changes in financial volume. Thus, the major finding of this study is that tourism development and financial development in Turkey have a long-term and reinforcing interaction.

Uncertainty and Tourism Development: The Case of North Cyprus

ABSTRACT Tourism development of North Cyprus is shadowed by the uncertainty of the political enviroment. This paper aims to evaluate the impacts of a political solution on the tourism development of North Cyprus. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted from North and South Cyprus. Findings suggest that a political solution to the Cyprus problem would have a favorable impact on the tourism industry of North Cyprus and this would provide new development opportunities in the areas of investment, infrastructure, accomodation, transportation and marketing. This paper concludes that political stability is essential for the development of tourism industries.