Insider / ΚΥΠΕ
The president of the Paphos Hoteliers Association, Thanos Michailidis, referred to the difficulty of finding staff, expressing his concern and adding that “time is running out and we have no solution”.
In his statements, Mr. Michailidis stated that the problem with the lack of staff remains unresolved, while expressing his concern because we are one and a half months before the start of the summer season and the tighter the time frame then it will be more difficult to find suitable staff for to come to Cyprus in time.
READ ALSO: STEK: Hotel companies send out a warning signal
Last year the issue of staff was addressed, as he explained, the occupancy was low and the months with high occupancy were not more than three. Now however, he noticed, that the tourist season will start normally, it is impossible for them to cope and provide the services they need to provide to their customers.
On this issue, he continued, the Hoteliers Association is in contact with the Ministry of Labor and is waiting for its response.
Asked if the tourist season is predicted to be better, Mr. Michailidis said that it is predicted to be better than last year and the year before last, which were very bad years, noting that there is interest and accumulated demand because there are people who have not taken vacations for two years. Certainly, he continued, there is interest, however, he added, it must be taken into account that all Mediterranean destinations will be open this year, so there will be intense competition.
We must also confirm the markets that the Cypriot hotels are staffed and can respond and perform, stating that the problem of staff shortage is not just a “Cypriot phenomenon”.
Then the president of the Paphos Hoteliers Association referred to the high energy costs that concern hoteliers.
He also pointed out that what they are trying to deal with and have taken a series of actions since last year with the digital campaign, is to deal with over-dependence on specific markets. He added that an effort is being made to maintain the flow of tourists from Great Britain to Paphos, but also to add tourists from all destinations, in an effort to improve occupancy and reduce seasonality.
Mr. Michailidis stated that in all seasons there are months that are better than others because a market has better mobility within a few months. So keep going, as the number of markets we attract grows, so does this fluctuation in occupancy throughout each season.
Asked about this, he said that at the moment in Paphos District about ten hotel units are open while it is expected, as he said, that some hotels will open in March to be ready for April, he concluded.
