MPs suggest new regulations for mountain hotels

A proposal to establish a special category of “rural hotels” was discussed by the House commerce committee on Tuesday.

The proposed law, tabled by Disy MPs Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis and Nikos Sykas, would amend current legislation on regulation, establishment and operation of hotels and tourist accommodation.

“The categorisation of mountain resorts means that we can exercise a differentiated policy for this category of hotels,” Hadjiyiannis said after the session, noting that these hotels are not the same as properties in coastal or urban areas.

Through creating a specific category, the state can implement a separate policy for such resorts, the MP said.

There are currently between 18 and 20 hotels and tourist lodges operating in mountainous areas.

“With the proposed law we create [a] tool for the executive branch to implement different support policies,” Hadjiyiannis said.

He also appealed to the electricity authority (EAC) and the state to do away with the proposed 6 per cent increase in electricity tariffs, saying that the increase “is not justified”.

The EAC’s director general told the committee the board was looking into the matter and asked for time to make a final decision.

The MP blasted the indecision of the authority and the state over the matter, saying that vulnerable populations and medium and small businesses would bear the brunt.

“In the context of huge profitability in 2023 they still leave [open] the possibility to impose a 6 per cent increase in electricity,” Hadjiyiannis said, noting that the state had accumulated windfall profits which ought to have been used to support the population against runaway increase in cost-of-living.