The Polis Chrysochous has lost between €150,000 and €200,000 from the operation of its municipal beach, mayor Yiotis Papachristofi said on Thursday.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, he said the municipality’s expenses exceed its income, and that it is his municipality which must cover half the cost of the beach’s lifeguards, a fact which he said “places a heavy financial burden” on his municipality.

He said he is expecting to see “a plan” from the interior ministry within the next three months, to be implemented before the summer season, which will involve all four of the Paphos district’s municipality and assess the viability of the district’s beaches.

He added that only the Akamas municipality’s Peyia borough is the only area in the district which does not face financial losses, and that an interior ministry representative is expected to visit the Paphos district in the coming months to review the beaches and “consider proposals”.

However, he said, it is currently “unfair” that his municipality is expected to “bear financial losses year after year”, and said that the central government may need to start paying for lifeguards, given the significant amount of money it makes from tourism each year.

He pointed out that the total cost of lifeguard services is around €10 million, with municipalities contributing €5m of that.

He added that Polis Chrysochous only saw “modest” numbers of visitors during the last summer season, but said that next year, with the opening of new hotels within municipal boundaries, numbers are expected to rise.