Impacts of Cittaslow Philosophy on Sustainable Tourism Development: Case of North Cyprus

Sustainability concept exists in the soul of the Cittaslow (slow city) philosophy. This protest movement mainly based on the philosophy of sustainability, and also strongly emphasizes to increase residents’ awareness about the concept of slowness and ensure sustainable local development. This research aims to analyze the impact of Cittaslow (slow city) philosophy on sustainable tourism development by considering the perception of local people in North Cyprus. In this context, the resident's support for sustainable tourism development has examined in terms of sustainability dimensions (socio-cultural, economic, and environmental). The quantitative research approach has used to observe the significant effects of Cittaslow philosophy and examine the resident's perception regarding tourism development in this study. The dataset has collected by the researcher applying a stratified random sampling method. Self- administered questionnaires were conducted to residents who are living in slow cities (Yeni Boğaziçi, Mehmetçik, Lefke, Geçitkale, and Tatlısu) in North Cyprus. The partial least squares approach to the structural equation model (PLS-SEM) used to analyze the data. The slow city concept is a very significant movement that emphasizes the importance of local differences and sustainability. In this context, there is not enough knowledge regarding the effects of Cittaslow membership and efforts on sustainable tourism development in North Cyprus. In this study, the research results discussed the important issues in the management of slow cities. Some critical factors, regarding the impacts of tourism, have been found to explain the perception of residents on support for sustainable tourism development. The policies of quality of city life and agricultural, touristic and artisan activities have emerged as a positive perception of the residents; infrastructure policies, energy policies, partnerships, and social cohesion have been found as a negative perception of the residents. Lastly, implications pinpointed for ensuring sustainable tourism development in slow cities. Keywords: Cittaslow (Slow City), Sustainability, Sustainable Tourism Development, North Cyprus, Impacts of Tourism.