A travel advert promoting the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as a travel destination was the third most-complained advert show this year.
According to the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), 394 complaints were received on the television advertisement given by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ministry of Tourism and Environment, which was seen on TV back in January on ITV.
The National Federation of Cypriots, operating in the UK filed a complaint, claiming that the advert was “misleading”, as it “presented “Northern Cyprus as a holiday destination while under the so-called Turkish occupation”.
The ASA said that incoming complainants criticized the ad for “neglecting to inform viewers about the dangers of vacationing in a place they believe is volatile and unsafe.”
However the ASA found that the advertisement did not break deciding not to accept the Complaints, the ASA pointed out that the UK Government did not have a travel warning against travel to Northern Cyprus.
The National Federation of Cypriots was instrumental in another campaign in 2005 banning Northern Cyprus travel advertisements on London’s public transport network. Thousands of Turkish Cypriots took to the streets to protest the ban in April 2005. Britain’s leading TRNC tour operator Cyprus Paradise won the lawsuit filed at the Supreme Court regarding the ban. It was emphasized in the decision that “freedom of expression” was restricted.
Making special statements to the London Gazete TRNC Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu said: “It is our legal right to promote Northern Cyprus as a tourism destination. We regret to see that the mentality that does not tolerate even the promotional advertisements of Northern Cyprus tourism has not changed, and we watch it with an example.
“We are pleased that the British Advertising Standards Authority made a pertinent statement on the complaints made, without ignoring a court decision won by the Turkish Cypriots in 2005. Despite those who try to put stones on the promotional activities of Northern Cyprus, we take our promotional activities to the top by making steps from those stones. It has been a pleasing situation for Northern Cyprus tourism that the tourism sector, which is one of the biggest income sources of the country’s economy, exhibited a rising graphic especially this year after the pandemic.
Ataoğlu stated that they are in cooperation with the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy “The promotional advertisements of the TRNC will continue to be published.”
Adding “There is a heavily established Turkish Cypriot population living in the UK, the small communities always stand together and therefore they are working to strengthen the bond of affection with Turkish Cypriots living in the UK. It is very important that we take a step together as a single punch against it.”
