The problems that concern the tourism sector and need to be addressed immediately were discussed at a recent meeting by the Cyprus Association of Tourism Enterprises (STEK), which expresses its strong concerns about staff shortages, "hotels" and illegalities in tourist areas.
In today's announcement, STEK states that the situation regarding the lack of staff in hotels endangers the recent successes of the sector and it is the responsibility of the authorities, employers, but also the unions to act responsibly and seriously, in order to solve the problem quickly.
"Recently, the Ministry of Labor issued a decree, according to which the employment of foreign students, who are already studying in Cyprus, in the leisure centers is allowed, without this being allowed for the hotel units. "We do not understand the reason for the specific exclusion of the hotel industry from this decree, as in this way various distortions are created", he states. It calls on the Ministry of Labor to reconsider the whole matter.
For the "para-hotels", he states that the issue of the provision of services by unlicensed companies, as well as the tax evasion that arises from it, have occupied STEK for a long time, calling on those in charge to look into the problem to find ways to solve it.
As he notes, "lately the issue has taken on new dimensions with the addition of electronic platforms to the game, such as Airbnb and of course this phenomenon is neither Cypriot nor European, but global", to add that "every country tries to in its own ways and with legislative regulations to resolve it ".
"Unfortunately, the competent parliamentary committee that handles the issue has 'disentangled' the original proposal of the legislative regulation of the problem, thus creating unfair competition with the legal hotel industry," he says.
Regarding the lack of cleanliness and maintenance of the coastal front, STEK states that the competent municipal and provincial authorities must act accordingly, before the tourist image of Cyprus is irreparably affected, with the corresponding extensions and negative consequences that this entails.
For allegations of illegal construction of additional floors in hotels "STEK's position is that the competent authorities should give the same importance to the implementation of all state laws and not selectively, adding that the positive course of tourism, which has a direct benefit in the economy and society, requires the implementation but also the respect of all the laws of the Republic ".