Architectural characteristics of accommodation buildings within the context of sustainable ecotourism in Cyprus: evaluation and recommendations

Tourism, a socioeconomic activity generally defined as an exchange of culture, is diversified by its different purposes. Ecotourism, which emerged and has been constantly developing in the last quarter century, is based on the principles of protecting the natural environment and recognising the original local culture in an interaction with the environment. As significant components of tourism activities, accommodation structures play a major role in the realisation of ecotourism. Due to its location, cultural heritage and rich history together with its Mediterranean climate, Cyprus is an especially important tourism destination for people from Middle East and European countries. The traditional living culture in this small island country has created a huge demand for ecotourism in Cyprus. The ecotourism industry in Cyprus provides housing structures restored with the traditional architectural characteristics of the island as well as new buildings. The new accommodation structures should be constructed in compliance with the traditional architectural characteristics of Cyprus to contribute to the island’s cultural tourism. Our study was conducted through a literature review regarding the main concepts of tourism and ecotourism and on-site field work on the architectural characteristics of existing ecotourism accommodation structures located in the ecotourism villages of Cyprus. In consideration of the field study findings, this study also proposes recommendations that could be a model for the architectural characteristics of new accommodation structures to be constructed for sustainable ecotourism in Cyprus. Within the framework of our study, the location, construction date, and architectural characteristics of fifteen accommodation structures were selected from Cyprus ecotourism villages; their layout and sketch drawings were completed using measurements and observations, while outdoor-indoor photographs were taken. As a result of these findings and based on the common architectural characteristics of existing ecotourism accommodation structures, the architectural characteristics of future accommodation structures have been identified accordingly.