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This research was motivated by the strong desire of the researchers to make an impact on the protection and conservation of the environment and to make recommendations to enhance sustainable ecotourism development in the Karpaz peninsula, North Cyprus. The aim of the research was first to assess the current challenges faced by those involved in ecotourism and sustainable practices and secondly to develop solutions for these challenges.

Qualitative applied research was used with the objective of combining the concerns of local entrepreneurs with the knowledge of the members of the ecotourism associations and organisations to raise public awareness, empower locals, bring social change and improve the lives of the local community. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with ecotourism entrepreneurs, members of the Ecotourism Association, the Ecotourism Movement and the Karpaz Ecotourism Cooperative.

The results showed that the main challenges faced were a lack of finance, a lack of support from the local and national governments and a lack of knowledge regarding ecotourism and sustainable development amongst members of the local community. The solutions are educating the local community about agri-ecotourism, putting pressure on local and national governments to support agri-ecotourism, getting other tourism associations such as tour operators on their side and setting up farming cooperatives for farmers.

The value and originality of this study lie in the use of applied research approach with its social agenda of finding solutions which can be developed from the new knowledge which arises from the study.

This theme issue aims to persuade practitioners and academics of the need to collaborate in support of sustainable development and to identify and implement solutions that enable sustainable tourism development in North Cyprus. The strategic question underlying this theme issue is as follows: transitioning from unsustainable to sustainable: what are the solutions for tourism industry stakeholders in North Cyprus?

The key outcomes of this issue as they relate to the strategic question are reviewed, with particular reference to the contributions made to knowledge, policy and practice as well as the implications for future applied research concerning sustainable tourism development in North Cyprus and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in general.

Arising from the analysis and synthesis of recommendations, the following themes were proposed as critical concentration points for transitioning from unsustainable to sustainable in the North Cyprus tourism industry: the importance of sustainable tourism indicators (STIs), sustainable development through good governance, engaging cooperatives in urban areas for sustainable development, cultural heritage as a driving force for sustainable development, transportation as a tool for accessible and sustainable tourism, contemporary trends in technology for sustainable development and other factors that could facilitate sustainable tourism development.

This article provides a narrative analysis of the findings and makes recommendations for consideration by politicians and tourist industry executives. The solutions include advancing sustainable tourism practices through technology and increasing policymakers' and tourism stakeholders' consciousness. This paper and the collection of articles on which it is based are the first to examine various academic and practitioner approaches to solutions that would help to address the challenges arising and then facilitate sustainable tourism in North Cyprus.

In 1989 I decided to join the doctoral program in Marketing at Michigan State University (MSU). Although I had been accepted into the doctoral programs at several universities, including UCLA and the University of Washington, I chose MSU because of its strong reputation in International Marketing, and its emphasis on managerial applications. Tamer Cavusgil had recently joined the MSU faculty and had just initiated the Center for International Business Education and Research. I wanted to learn from him as my mentor and dissertation chair, and was encouraged by the potential resources available through the CIBER to do international research. This decision to come to MSU and to be a student of Tamer Cavusgil is a decision I have never regretted, and that has enabled me to become a successful, full professor, engaged in a career in International Marketing.