Social and Culture Impacts of Educational Tourism on the Local Community: Case Study of Famagusta

Background: This book is aimed at examining and analyzing the impacts of educational tourism on the local community of Famagusta North Cyprus both positive and negative through cultural and social interactions between the host community of Famagusta and International students. Educational tourism is a means to empower educational communities, host communities, local entrepreneurs, and to enhance economic prosperity. Method: Using qualitative analysis of interviews with residents and the international students. Interviews were carried out in April, 2020. For this study, Older Cypriot community members aged between 25-50 were purposely selected to clearly portray disparities by those who have more direct contacts with international students. Qualitative methodology was chosen as the method of this research in order to provide reliable and meaningful knowledge on the area of research. Data were collected from 12 host community members and 27 international students of Famagusta, North Cyprus. Results: Findings revealed the existence of a lacking interaction between local and international students on social and cultural effects (both positive and negative) of educational tourism. Conclusion: As a result, this study unfolds certain barriers like language barriers and as an educational community hosting student from many countries around the world, there seems to be a hinderance with interaction with international students and also certain factors that motivates the social and cultural interactions and impacts on the local community members. The findings propose new insights into language as a barrier and social and cultural interactions of educational tourism. The results of this study present practical information on sustainable educational programs for both the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Tourism. Results also showcased how important educational tourism is for the city of Famagusta, Cyprus. The implications of this study provide new insights into future researches by highlighting this current challenge. Keywords: Educational Tourism, Host-Guest Interaction Social Interaction, Cultural Interaction.