Bar, restaurant industry in Paphos looks bleak without tourism

[memory man]

Restaurants and bars in Paphos will struggle to survive without tourism as up to 60 per cent of venues may be forced to close, officials said on Wednesday.

“Paphos is reliant on tourism and many people in Paphos are employed in this sector. Our largest markets are the UK and Russia, and as they are not yet able to travel here for at least the next two months due to restrictions, it’s a really difficult situation,” president of the federation of restaurant/leisure owners Fitos Thrassivoulou said.

If projections are correct, that only around 20-30 per cent of the number of visitors to the island will arrive this year compared to last, it’s common sense that up to 60 per cent of food industry venues will have to close, or change their business, he said.

In addition, unless banks, municipalities and the government help affected businesses (with electricity bills, water, rubbish and taxes) it may not be possible for many to open at all, let alone remain open and trade next year.

There are currently around 1,000 restaurants, bars and cafés in the Paphos district, he noted, with the number of cafés increasing by around 300 or so in the last two years. This has caused a saturation of the market, he added.

“Most families don’t have the cash to go out now anyway as they have only a percentage of their wage. It’s mostly teenagers going out and they don’t spend much money.”

He added that the seasonality of the island is also a huge hindrance to the industry.

“The only hope is that August, September and October would see a good number of tourists arriving and this would give some oxygen to the industry, that would be a nice surprise.”

Proving Thrassyvoulou’s point, Aphrodite’s Rock Brewery in Paphos reopened its doors to the public this week. The ten-strong work force is used to handling large numbers of visitors and welcoming busloads of tourists on a daily basis.

“Last year, in the summer, we had around 800 customers a week, this week we will be lucky if we get 150,” managing director Jean Ginn said.

Israel as one of the countries that will see the flight ban lifted as of June 9 as part of a two-step time frame, which Ginn hopes will mean at least a marginal increase in numbers visiting the brewery.

She added that along with many other businesses in the food industry, the coming months will be a struggle to survive. Many venues are not yet open, and some won’t open at all.

“It’s the uncertainty,” another eatery owner said.” I can’t afford to open, it’s too much of a gamble. I really don’t know what to do in the future”.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/05/28/bar- ... t-tourism/

[cyprusmax47]

If there are really 1000 restaurants,bars,cafes in the Paphos district, then perhaps there are too many of them, even without the corona problem.
This is a typical Cypriot phenomenon that people open a business without market research. For example if someone opens a kiosk, you can wait for a couple of month and next-doors will open another kiosk even when there are already three or so in the same road. Same applies for petrol stations, furniture outlets etc... Perhaps this bad situation now leads to a self-cleansing process, but it is not only the mistake of the copy people, it is also the lack of Government regulations, concerning permits to open a business, when there exists already one in the same trade next-doors.

Max

[WHL]

If there are really 1000 restaurants,bars,cafes in the Paphos district, then perhaps there are too many of them, even without the corona problem.
This is a typical Cypriot phenomenon that people open a business without market research. For example if someone opens a kiosk, you can wait for a couple of month and next-doors will open another kiosk even when there are already three or so in the same road. Same applies for petrol stations, furniture outlets etc... Perhaps this bad situation now leads to a self-cleansing process, but it is not only the mistake of the copy people, it is also the lack of Government regulations, concerning permits to open a business, when there exists already one in the same trade next-doors.

Max

We live in a free market economy, not in North Korea, thank goodness we have a lack of government regulations,(I remember going to restaurants in Eastern Europe back in the communist days, and believe me service was an alien word) the market place will always, determine who stays in business and who closes by businesses giving good value for money and service.

[Sadie]

We went to the last castle yesterday, it was eerily quiet, the food was still as good, and the team were following all new protocols, but I can’t see this volume being enough to be sustainable

[MacManiac]

Any country like Cyprus, which relies heavily on tourism and hospitality, is caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. Close your borders to eradicate (as far as possible) the virus and keep your population safe, and the vulnerable and the jobless starve and the economy crashes - which means public services are no longer able to be funded. Open your borders and there is no way in the world that the virus will not reappear and In no time at all we are back to square one in lockdown.

It is a dreadful position in which to find yourself, and I would not want to be in government when these decisions have to be made. Many on this forum are retired (and many may class themselves to be vulnerable). Our pension income is secure (as far as any pension income is secure) and we can sit back and offer opinions on what should happen. My wife and I decided to self-isolate before the government made that decision for us. We have our food and drink delivered to the door, we pay bills online and only occasionally emerge to visit the pharmacy. We have no neighbours within two hundred metres, and have even locked our drive gate to ensure we remain safe.

Fortunately we have a large enclosed garden and we can sit by the pool and lookout over the bay. Do we want to return to “normal”? Of course we do, and we want our adopted home to flourish and for the people to be safe and secure. How to achieve this ... I just don’t know.

[Jimgym]

You've summed it up quite nicely MacManiac, a rock and a hard place for all countries. Life does have to go on, and we will have to accept the risks. It's horrible to think of businesses suffering and possibly going under, but the thought of hundreds of thousands of arrivals also makes me very nervous!. As you and others have said, there are no easy answers.