Around mid-May and with the arrival of the first tourists, most of the restaurants in Ayia Napa and Protaras are expected to open, Petros Assias, a representative of the Association of Leisure Center Owners (SIKA) of Famagusta, told KYPE.
He added that "most of the restaurants and leisure centers in Ayia Napa and Protaras have not opened yet because this area is based not only on the operation of Cyprus airports but on crowded tourist flights." However, as he stated, "after the decision to open the restaurants in Ayia Napa, a few restaurants were opened, while in the area of Paralimni, many more were operating".
We hope that by mid-May most restaurants, leisure centers and other establishments will be ready to open and welcome the first tourists from the United Kingdom. "At the same time, however, we will serve this year as well as last year the thousands of our Cypriot compatriots who visited the free province of Famagusta for their holidays," he said.
Asked about the government's vaccination program, Mr. Assias said that "we are optimistic about the fact that the Ministry of Health is making the right moves on this issue and is moving fast."
However, he noted that because tourism is a matter of survival for Cyprus, "the Ministry should pay close attention to the vaccinations of people who are on the front line of tourist service, so as not to create problems with the arrival of tourists on our island."
Asked what is expected to happen in case a large number of tourists do not visit Cyprus this year, Mr. Assias replied that "I do not want to think about such a thing, but in such a case then there will be a question of survival of several properties."
According to him, the Government "did everything to deal with the problem of the pandemic, but at the same time did not deal with due care various problems caused by the coronavirus, one of which is rent."
He added that the tenants of the premises that operate as restaurants, leisure centers, nightclubs and others, did not ask for the help of the government in the sense of being given money to pay the rent. He acknowledged that the government had paid a one-off fee for operating expenses, but added that "rents could not be included."
There are, he continued, property owners who treated their tenants very well and reconciled with the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic, made good rent reductions. "Several property owners even exceeded 50% of the rent reduction proposed by the government, something that particularly satisfied the entrepreneurs," he said.
Mr. Assias also said that "some people took the opportunity to take advantage of the fact that the Government did not take care to regulate the issue of rents in another way, as a result of which some tenants of the premises find it difficult to operate this year". According to him, for years the rents were very high, however there were no problems in the free province of Famagusta because everyone was working. "Now the state, including the Parliament, did not understand what we asked for, that is, with their intervention to share the costs and the recognized damage to the rents, both to the owner of the property and to the businessman who operates it," he added.
To another question he answered that tourists no longer want not only sun and sea but also different experiences and interpersonal relationships. "Employees at the forefront of the tourism industry are the ones who bring tourists back to Cyprus, with their service, courtesy and good character," he said, noting that "we look positively at this year's tourist season and the messages received from travel agents." is that foreigners also eagerly want to travel and escape the coronavirus pandemic ".
Regarding the operation of the restaurants after the protocol that was formed, he said that "by the weekend many restaurants and leisure centers will be ready and will open to serve both foreigners and locals".