A regulation for the reduction of hotel stuff to 50 per cent in the off-season, if a hotel wishes to stay open, has been called into question by the head of the Paphos Tourism Development company (Etap) on Wednesday.
The staffing limit is a deterrent to hotels in the region staying open in winter, President of the tourism promotion body, Kyriakos Drousiotis told the Cyprus News Agency.
Despite the fact that Paphos offers itself a winter tourist destination hoteliers feel compelled to close at the beginning of November and reopen as late as March or even April, Drousiotis said. He noted that for local workers unemployment benefits provided by the state for a four-month period, equivalent to 75 per cent of their salary, is a deterrent to seeking employment in the field which causes staff shortages.
Etap is also advocating for workers to receive their pay-out at the end of their employment period and just before they start working again.
“The state pays employees at 75 per cent of their salaries[ for four months] in the winter season, while the hoteliers [are suggesting] for 50 per cent to be paid by the state with the employer making up the remaining 50 per cent [for the whole off-season],” Droushiotis said.
The restriction on operating with a skeleton staff of 50 per cent is problematic if a hotel is to properly operate, he added, and sought to understand how this limit had been determined and decided upon.
With the current system, “the state loses a lot of VAT [and subsequent] revenue [while] if we manage to remove the 50 per cent [limitation] more hotels could operate throughout the winter season,” Droushiotis pointed out.
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