Social, cultural and environmental impacts of tourism in Cyprus: the need for sustainable development

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to determine how tourism development in Cyprus impacted its society, socially, culturally and environmentally. More specifically, this paper will determine how tourism development in Cyprus has affected social and cultural attitudes, identify reasons that contribute to this effect, how people view this development, and suggest alternative ways to avoid the negative socio-cultural and environmental effects of tourism. The methodology employed involved both desk and field research, including a literature review over the period 1960–2010, as well as, the use of a questionnaire administered by interviews, covering six geographical areas of Cyprus, representing all major touristic resorts. The overall analysis will attempt to reveal that the unprecedented tourism expansion is contributing to the observed change in the social, cultural and environmental character of Cyprus. It is the purpose of this paper to determine both the positive and negative socio-cultural and environmental impacts of tourism development in the Island State of Cyprus and suggest ways for sustainable tourism development. Recommendations, conclusions and suggestions for future work are reported at the end of this paper.