The issue of the difficulty of finding staff in hotels is brought back by the President and the Vice President of the Paphos Hoteliers Association Thanos Michailidis and Evelyn Cleanthous Komodromou, respectively.
The president of PASYXE Paphos Thanos Michailidis described as extremely important and urgent to solve the problem of labor shortage, adding that if the pandemic is under control, the tourist flow for 2022 will be quite increased compared to 2020 and 2021 and relatively close to numbers of 2019.
He also estimated that in order for the hotel industry to be able to respond to the increased occupancy, it needs a workforce. The state, he continued, must plan early and provide solutions, so that the industry can in time and certainly by March 2022, the problem has been solved. In case we do not respond in time as a tourist destination, we will not be able to provide the right services and we will lose what we have built in recent years, added Mr. Michailidis.
He also pointed out that tourism needs constant monitoring to offer experiences that are modern and reflect current trends. It is necessary, as he said, to have continuous cooperation between the state bodies and the private sector that deals with tourism, in order to make the corrective moves in advance. He added that the tourism industry touches almost all sectors of the Cypriot economy, while emphasizing that everyone must join forces to create the momentum that suits our industry. The results will be shared across the economy, he concluded.
In addition, in her statements to KYPE, the vice-president of the Paphos Hoteliers Association, Evelyn Cleanthos Komodromou, stated that one of the main problems faced by Paphos hoteliers is the difficulty in finding staff, adding that there are hotels that have not been able to operate all their facilities. their restaurants due to lack of staff.
As he said, some hotel employees from Cyprus, professionals in the industry, decided to leave the profession, while the foreigners who worked for their own reasons left Cyprus, with the result that the previously available staff did not exist.
Ms. Komodromou referred to their repeated request for the issuance of licenses from third countries, which have trained staff for the hotel industry.
However, he stressed that no decision has been made and the process is considered delayed, resulting in competition between hotels. She also expressed concern, with the start of the new summer season, that hoteliers will not be able to serve the tourists who will visit Paphos.
In addition, he referred to the cost of electricity and water, which unfortunately, he noted, does not have the consent of the government to reduce the fee for the tourism industry. Unfortunately, he noted, the hotels remain in the pricing that are not subject to any discounts, with the result that the cost of the holidays continued to rise and we are not competitive, he added. so that they can attract such tourists.