The number of tourist accommodation establishment with respect to total bed capacity in North Cyprus is 133 with a total bed capacity of 19,276[59]. This figure comprises of 17 five-star hotels, 4 are four-star hotels, 10 are three-star hotels, 18 are two-star hotels, 18 are one-star hotels, five are class II holiday villages, five are boutique hotels, one is a special-class hotel, 30 are tourist bungalows, 2 are apart hotels, 3 are traditional houses, 1 is a holiday home and 17 are tourist guesthouses. Other establishments are not yet classified and one is not operating; both with a total bed capacity of 228[59].
These tourist accommodation establishments are not evenly located in all the five regions in North Cyprus; in fact Girne is home to 88 of the total figure, this amounts to 66% with bed capacity of 13,039 which also accounts to 67% of the total bed capacity followed by Iskele with 28 establishments that’ is 21%, then Gazimagusa with 9 units that is 7%, leaving Lefkosia and Guzelyurt with 4 each sharing the remaining 6%. The bed capacity in the regions of Gamzimagusa, Iskele, Lefkosa and Guzelyurt are 1,490, 3,810, 802 and 126 respectively [59].
The hotels are located in strategically beautiful places; some locations are very close to the sea and beaches, where their clients are entreated to beautiful views outside of their balconies. Most of the big hotels in north Cyprus have their own private beaches and casinos; they also provide tour services for tourists, spas, catering, gym etc. For a true North Cyprus local experience, staying in the holiday villages will be a beast bet, there are a lot of them located outside of the busy cities and mostly self catering.
CHAPTER FIVE
METHODOLOGY
5.1. Introduction
This chapter described the methodology used in achieving the objectives of this study. It involves discussions on how data were collected, the area of study, the selection of sample and the procedure used to analyze the collected data. In this chapter, tourists’ demographic and travel behavioral characteristics were analyzed, an investigation into which destination attributes satisfies the tourists most was also made.
5.2. Study Area
An area of study can be defined as an enclosed or particular target of interest where data samples are collected or gathered from. In this study the area of study was North Cyprus.
There are five (5) districts in the Island but due to some constraints not all the five districts were visited. Data were mainly collected from Famagusta, Girne and Lefkosa which happen to be the major districts in the Island with Famagusta contributing slightly above 50% of the total questionnaires leaving the remaining percentage to be shared between Girne and Lefkosa. The reason for more data collected from Famagusta was mainly because the tourists who visited there were much more receptive compared to those who visited Girne and Lefkosa so it was far easier to get the work done.
