The Process Of Urbanization And Its Implications For Tourism Sector-A Sustainability Approach: The Case Of Famagusta / TRNC

ABSTRACT: This study aims to explore and analyze the process of urbanization and its implications for tourism in the city of Famagusta/TRNC. The question is whether tourism development and urbanization processes are integrated based on a clear understanding of these two phenomena which are highly reciprocal and interdependent. Not only they reinforce each other, they are also making the same demand from the supply of services and facilities; tourists’ demand, which is shared with the citizens is temporary, while citizens demand is permanent. Therefore, the strong interdependency between them requires a conscious approach within an urban planning instrument known as ‘comprehensive plan’. Tourism development, as a new dynamism within the tertiary economic structure, has a reciprocal interaction with the processes of urbanization. İn one hand, the declining urban areas have capitalized on their potential and even obsolete resources through redesigning, renovation, and refurbishment for the consumption of tourists. Thus, city managers/municipalities/planning departments/city halls have embarked upon tourism sector development to revive their declining metropolitan areas. İn another hand, tourism has become an agent of change in many sleepy and forgotten settlements that initiated the process of urbanization (Griffin and Hayllar, 2006; Beriatos, 2008). No wonder, most of the cities have become a magnet for the tourists and the concept of ‘urban tourism’ has consolidated within broader tourism field. On this platform, the intended research will examine and assess the case of Famagusta/TRNC to explore to what extend urbanization process has been integrated to tourism dynamism knowing the fact that Famagusta is a tourist destination that tries to accommodate various modes of tourism with the aim of their full satisfaction. The conceptual model for this study is adopted form Gunn and Var (2002) who have set up four fundamental strategic goals for ‘tourism planning institutions’ as : i) enhanced visitor satisfaction, ii) improved economy and business success, iii) sustainable resource use and , iv) community and area integration. These tourism specific goals are in line with the ‘smart growth’ paradigm, which guides an urbanization process that can serve the economy, community, and environment (Miller and Hoel, 2002; Winkelman et al, 2002). The assumption is that if urban planners and relevant institutions are not aware of the reciprocal relationships between tourism and urbanization, it will be costly and impossible to design strategic plans toward these goals. And/or, the goals may not be realized unless both urbanization process and tourism sector are integrated from the beginning. Urbanization process and tourism field are multidimensional that demand an approach based on communications, consensus-building, and legislative efforts that improve dialog, reduce polarization, and enable coordination of urban space and tourism industry. In this context, tangible initiatives that can be publicly debated need to be in the open. For entities charged, the challenge is to ensure that diverse stakeholder inputs with different views are synthesized into a coherent urban tourism system that can reconcile individual autonomy and communal desires toward the aforementioned tourism goals. For the purpose of this research, a qualitative methodology is utilized which will be based on an in-depth interview with officials in the municipality and community that include: planners, architects, managers, environmentalists, and academicians. Keyword: Urbanization, Tourism planning, Sustainability, Urban tourism, Famagusta, North Cyprus. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………