e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 8, No. 5, 2010 http://ertr.tamu.edu/ 103 Okan Veli ŞAFAKLI European University Of Lefke IGNORED RICHNESS OF TOURISM IN NORTHERN CYPRUS As a state policy the tourism sector in Northern Cyprus was identified as the locomotive sector for economic development. However, the tourism sector could not meet expectations due to internal and external factors. Even though its success is questionable, noteworthy improvements in gross output, net tourism revenues, and structure of the sector such as bed capacity have been observed. Despite the existing structural and managerial problems in addition to lack of direct flights from Europe, Northern Cyprus is an exceptional tourist destination providing a diverse range of tourism opportunities. This characteristic of the country, forming the basis of its competitive edge provides both domestic and foreign investors with a potential advantage to undertake feasible projects while making use of investment incentives designed to foster the economic development of Northern Cyprus. Keywords: Tourism Sector, Northern Cyprus, Opportunities Okan SAFAKLI European University of Lefke osafakli@kibris.net Okan SAFAKLI as Assoc.Prof.Dr is Lecturer in European University of Lefke. As a chronological order his educational background is Bachelor of Science in Economics from (Eastern Mediterrenaean University, Northern Cyprus), MBA from (Eastern Mediterrenaean University, Northern Cyprus), and PhD in Finance from (Çukurova University, Turkey). He has a lot of papers presented in national and international congresses and articles published. His main research interests are tourism financing, financing of cooperatives and general banking and finance topics.