Boom in Greek Cypriots travelling from north

Greek Cypriots are increasingly using the internationally unrecognised airports in the north to travel abroad, despite the taboo on doing so, according to data from the credit card company JCC. In the first six months of 2010, spending on airlines in the north (and Antalya) using cards issued in the south reached EUR 731,720, a 21-fold increase compared with the same period of 2009 according to our analysis.
Since the credit card data also include Antalya, it is possible that some of this is spent on travel to Turkey via Greece, as Turkey has become a popular destination even for Greek Cypriots who would never step foot in the north, where some 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed.
Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence suggests that Greek of the Cypriot variety can increasingly be heard at Ercan (formerly Tymbou) airport. Perhaps Istanbul has become a more attractive hub to reach the rest of Europe than strike-ridden Athens.
Spending on casinos appears to be the only category that has been hit by the recession in the south, with spending down 44.8% year on year in the first six months at EUR 1.1 mln.
In the first six months of the year credit card spending in the north (and Antalya) rose by 6.8% over the same period of 2009 to EUR 3.5 mln, or around 10% of Turkish Cypriot GDP.

Turkish Cypriot spending up 0.3% in Jan-June

Meanwhile, spending by Turkish Cypriots in the south rose by only 0.3% to EUR 8.1 mln in the first six months of 2010 compared with the same period of 2009.
The biggest increase was in spending on charities, up 302%, although the amount was a tiny EUR 1,481.
The next largest increase was on food and drink, with spending up 42.8% to EUR 47,245.
Fiona Mullen, Sapienta Economics