People rediscover the urge to party and have fun

Nightlife is thriving once again and people in the industry are upbeat after a festive period in which clubs and bars were working at full capacity.

“Occupancy rates across all nightclubs reached 100 per cent, reminiscent of the good old days,” Nikos Vasiliou, president of the Pancyprian association of entertainment centres (Pasyked) told Stockwatch.

He said it was clear from the very big number of bookings and the high turnout that the public had been desperate to party. Vasiliou explained this was also helped by the wide array of events hosted across various venues that made it accessible for all types of budgets.

High on Vasiliou’s priorities now is resolving the issues of nightclub opening hours and noise level regulations, as legislation has been pending for 14 years.

He expected there would be a resolution on opening hours after February’s elections. He suggested that closing time for restaurants would bet 1am, for bars 2am or 2.30am, and for clubs 5am or 5.30am.

Head of the association of entertainment venues (Osika) Neophytos Thrasyvoulou agreed that there was a big public desire to party.

“Clubs were crowded whereas restaurants in the coastal cities marked reduced traffic during the holidays,” he said.

Thrasyvoulou added that entertainment venues in areas frequented by tourists noted a 50 per cent decrease in Limassol, while Larnaca was down by 60 per cent and Nicosia suffered the most at a decrease of 80 per cent.

He explained however that on the Sunday and Monday of New Year’s there was a lot of activity throughout the island, even near the beaches and in the mountains.

From January 6 onwards, Thrasyvoulou believed the numbers at clubs would drop dramatically, and the deputy ministry of tourism had to work hard to capitalise on the increased number of flights and connectivity for the upcoming tourism season.

Despite the upbeat mood in the sector, Fanos Leventis, head of the entertainment venue owners association (Pasika), emphasised that power costs remained a serious concern.

“Oil prices have been steadily coming down over the past two months but until now the EAC has made no move towards lowering electricity prices,” he said.