Greek Cypriots spill into the north for bargains

More Greek Cypriots are crossing into the northern part of Cyprus in search of great bargains due to the weak Turkish lira, with estimates close to a million visits in the first eight months.

According to Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen which cited actual figures, 930,014 Greek Cypriots visited the north via a checkpoint in the first eight months this year, marking a 28.7% increase compared with 722,626 last year during the same period. In 2016, over a million Greek Cypriots had crossed into the north between January and August.

The weak Turkish lira was identified as the main driving factor, prompting consumers in the south to cross the buffer zone and seek better deals on commercial goods.

As for visits into the Republic of Cyprus via checkpoints, over a million and a half Turkish Cypriots crossed into the south this year in the first eight months.

Specifically, 1,179,595 Turkish Cypriots made their way south from January through August of 2018, compared to 1,188,890 last year and 1,150,412 during the same period in 2016.

Last week, reports in the northern part of the island showed the devaluation of the Turkish lira and higher wages in the south were also driving more Turkish Cypriots to seek employment in the Republic of Cyprus.

At the same time, media in the south have reported on Greek Cypriots crossing into the north in droves to fill up their cars with cheaper gasoline, often causing bumper-to-bumper traffic at Agios Dometios/Metehan in Nicosia.