Aziz Kent spoke to Cyprus: Future is in Tourism – Cyprus Newspaper

Tourism Week begins… Aziz Kent, which makes the first private tourism investment in the country CYPRUSHe spoke to, told that tourism is a savior, told that there is a need for a vision to pave the way for investments.

He kissed Makarios’s hand … Aziz Kent, who wants to build a hotel in Cyprus with the money earned in the UK during the period when the Turks were workers with the Greek Cypriots, succeeded in this road where Makarios entered the expense of kissing the hand of Makarios and opened Celebrity Hotel in Lapta in 1976. “The future of the country passes through tourism,” he said Con Aziz, drew attention to the fact that governments should improve the vision of tourism.

The problems should be overcome… “They are punishing the hotel -maker when they need to reward the Kent on my site, » 2025’te, but the 1960s we see the problems we experienced today, « he said. The city emphasized that the environment should be cleaned, increasing charter flights, bringing back the Turkish Cypriots to the country and giving historical places to the private sector and gaining tourism.

Emine Gul Ozer

We talked to Aziz Kent Aziz, who signed the first tourism investments in Northern Cyprus, within the framework of 15-22 April Tourism Week.

In his life, when he started as a child of a poor family, Aziz Kent, who went to Türkiye and then to England, starts to do things that will mark London’s entertainment life. The nickname ‘Con’ comes as the abbreviation of Johhny. The young Aziz, who is very rich, takes his family with him. But his mind is always in his country. In the 1960s, the Turks lived a life in the shadow of the Greeks on the island, and Aziz Kent, who wants to turn this situation in reverse, wants to invest in tourism. However, this was not possible at that time.

Although “give up” suggestions came to Aziz Kent, which also opened this idea to Rauf Denktaş, it is stubborn.

Conver Aziz, who could not make the investment he wanted in Kyrenia in the face of Greek barriers, searches for a Turkish land by the sea and is decided in Lapta.

The Turks who rolled up the arms for the first tourism investment of the Turks in Cyprus is Makarios who will allow Aziz Kent to build a hotel. In order to overcome this obstacle, Con Aziz, who revealed his determination by saying üm I kissed Makarios’s hand ,, opens Celebrity Hotel, the first tourism investment of the Turkish Cypriots in 1976.

“The salvation of the island, the future is in the tourism,” he said that the 90 -year -old Aziz Kent, who explained that he was suffered by governments at a young age, is still in the same thought. Aziz Kent, who does not go one step back from the idea that “the future of the island is tourism”, states that governments should support tourism.

We had our conversation with Aziz Kent at the house in Alsancak region with tourism veteran, here are the details ..

« I earned a lot of money in the UK »

Aziz Kent first responds to the question nasıl How did you take tourism, would you tell us?

“EOKA tried to hit me in Cyprus, but they could not hold, they shot my dude language. I had to go to Türkiye. I went to England in 1956. I would never return to Cyprus.  » God said, « Walk, » and I walked to Cyprus.

« Denktas told me ‘Greeks don’t even run us a waitress' »

When we came to the 1960s, the deceased Rauf Raif Denktaş and Dr. I was very close to my age with Fazıl Küçük. Actually, we didn’t come from a very poor family, we had a hard time. It was the days we were hungry, my father was a miner, my mother tried. Fortunately, I had 10-15 places in the UK, I had busy places in the center of London, and good money was coming. I saved my mother from this situation. I made my family home in London. I would meet with Mr. Denktaş in England and here. We were involved in the organization (Turkish Resistance Organization), so our name began to be heard in a way that the Greeks would learn. They even sent a bomb for me to England. When I came across with Denktaş Bey, I said this; « I saved my family. From now on I want to save the Turkish Cypriot. » He asked me, “What is your opinion ve and said:“ I swear everything we are looking for in tourism. Economy, social, cultural field is the area we will grow in all areas. ” But the Greeks forbade us to do our tourism, but I said, ‘I said,’ I would work. They said ‘you can’t do it’, I said I will. But it wasn’t in Kyrenia. I headed to Lapta, which is the Turkish land and started the tourism of Turkish in Cyprus as a private sector in Lapta as the first. ”

« I kissed Makarios’s hand for the hotel »

« How could Con Aziz Hotel be able to open the pressure of the Greeks on the Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots? » The answer to this question causes a very troubled memory for Aziz Kent.

“We got the land to build a hotel in Lapta, we could not agree with the Greeks for the construction license. I will give you the license you want, but I have a condition, ”he said. The condition would be a partnership with a Greek person for 5 years, but the enterprise would belong to the Greek. But the Greek Cypriot would not even invest in an investment. Although I said“ OK ,, I had a friend of the UK. He kills. ”When he said so, he signed it and took it to the Undersecretary. I am the Turkish Cypriot who received the first license.

« We crossed the Greek municipality came across »

Aziz Kent, who says “Tourism requires will, describes the difficulties he has experienced:

We started construction so that it continued for another year. We exceeded the Greek obstacle, but suddenly a decision of an expropriation from the Municipality of Lapta came out. I fought a very big struggle for tourism. I continued the struggle and went to the United Nations, the issue was included in Denktaş and the event was solved only at that time. When the year arrived in 1974, the hotel came out, but he wanted decoration. There was no war in Cyprus. Still, we did it. Tourism started in Cyprus for Turks.

I said « I will come to the future tourism, » the government ‘fields’ mentioned’

Despite all the obstacles, Aziz Kent opened the hotel of the first private Turkish investor in Lapta, named Celebrity. But the difficulties were not cut back. The city describes those days as follows:

“It was very difficult processes. What we suffered from the Greeks is now over. After 1974, both ignorance and jealousy of ours started to shoot this time. I did not expect support from the government, I had everything. I had everything. I have seen the damage of the Bank, but I did not see the damage of the Bank of Development.

Small hotels are in danger of sinking

Kent said that there are good tourisms in the country under the conditions of today, “We have good tourismists, but as we have just mentioned, many people were sunk due to tourism, their goods were confiscated. warned.

“Tourism support is also large in return for this support. Because the locomotive of the economy is tourism.” Aziz Kent said, iz We are in 2025, but we see what we experienced in the 1960s today. Tourism requires support, at least you will not be a shackle if you cannot support it. I worked, I work. « 

Charter flights should be increased

Aziz Kent, which we want to evaluate the situation of tourism at the moment, drew attention to the shortage of transportation and explained that there are works to be done at this point:

“When building a building, the foundation should be laid firmly. Both in England, here and in Cyprus, I established agencies. Because marketing was important. But I did not have a plane. At this point, the Airplane flights had to enrich. But we were under the pressure of the Greek. Dolmuşçılık will be a little bit of a plane to the world. I am I was going to implement it, but they have an obstacle.

« They punish that they will give awards to the investor in tourism »

Aziz Kent, who listed what needs to be done except for the development of tourism, but thinks that the perspective of the investor should change in the first place:

“The TRNC has a very big tourism potential. The tourist who invests here should be given an award. But they punish the hotel who makes the hotel here! The future of tourism is very bright. But 3 items are important. Bellapais, inside the city walls, you will rent places to the private sector so that these places will develop tourist. ”

Aziz Kent pointed out that the environment is also very important for quality tourism, “The environment is also very important. Currently, in the form of dirt. Without the environment without regular, tourism will not come. Tourism is a future, a life. Conscious promotion, conscious transportation in this sense. Tourism expands the vision, brings richness, revives the economy,” he said.

« Dimag Caginer should be listened to »

Aziz Kent pointed out that tourism should play an important role in tourism management and drew attention to the achievements of Dimağ Çağıner, who is a tourist tourist and is currently the President of the Turkish Cypriot Hoteliers Association. Kent ended his words by saying, “If the government supports Dimağ Çağıner’s projects and if it listens to it, the country tourism really reaches a completely different dimensions”.