Cyprus hotels not open until end of season?
Comments by Head of the Paphos branch of the Cyprus Hotels Association (Pasyxe) Thanos Michaelides that hotels in Cyprus will open any time soon is a classic example of how out of touch and clueless hoteliers in Cyprus, as always incredibly short sighted, no ability to think long term.
Tourist sector has been on the decline for years, attracts the dregs of the tourist industry, drives away the quality tourists, all-inclusive brings in the dregs of the tourist industry, drives away quality tourists, little money flows into the local economy.
Tourists sector is more than a few greedy shortsighted hoteliers, it is bars, restaurants, coffee shops, water sports, car hire, boat trips, all of which have seen a dramatic loss of income in recent years thanks to all-inclusive hotels.
The opportunity should be taken, which was not taken when Thomas Cook collapsed, to restructure the tourist sector. Focus on quality, fewer tourists, quality tourists, end all-inclusive hotels which bring in the dregs of the tourist industry with little money flowing into the local economy, tour companies no more than 20% of bookings, with payment made in full at end of every month.
Reliant upon two countries, over reliance.
UK will be in lockdown until at least end of April into May. FCO advice on no foreign travel indefinite. No one has any money. Consumer confidence at record low. Airlines grounded, government not inclined to bailout, strong public opposition to bailout. Stelios Haji-Ioannou has warned easyJet will run out of money by August.
Russia in lockdown, EU borders closed.
Before anything happens, before any influx of tourists, Cyprus would have to come out of lockdown and be coronavirus free for at least a month.
Europe and US are current epicentres of covid-19. Tuesday, UK recorded highest daily mortality, 786 covid-19 deaths, total in excess of 6000. And that is only deaths recorded in hospitals, the actual number estimated by National Office of Statistics to be 70% higher.
The earliest Cyprus open to visitors would be end of season.
If Cyprus open to visitors, would have to be slowly, slowly, screening at airports, means to quarantine, hotels only 50% capacity maximum, strict enforcement of social distancing within hotels, dining, sunbeds spaced well apart, hotels where packed in like sardines on sunbeds not permitted to open, screening of everyone every time they enter a hotel, saunas, gyms, massage not open, moot point if pools open, if open, strict enforcement on numbers in the pool, showering on entering and leaving the pool, sunbeds cleaned every evening.
How do we get from lockdown, not allowed out, social distancing, keep at least 2 metres apart, no association with other than ones own household, avoid public transport, to travel through a busy airport, packed in like sardines for four hours in a confined place breathe in the shared air, packed like sardines in the hotel grounds?
At least two airlines, BA and an American airline the cabin crew have tested positive for covid-19.
The turn around of easyJet on landing with the crew tasked with a quick tidy of the plane is not sufficient to decontaminate the plane. Cyprus needs to have in place an enforced decontamination regime, with heavy penalty if fail to comply. All aircraft decontaminated on landing before can take on board passengers.
Insurance is essential, and a legal requirement if travelling within EU.
Many insurance companies have pulled travel insurance, others have excluded covid-19 cover and hiked the price.
Would Cyprus authorities be offering free insurance cover? And if they did, locals would have a legitimate argument, why not us, why are we not covered?
Airlines are grounded. Lufthansa is to permanently decommission more than 40 of its aircraft and axe its Germanwings low-cost arm, warning it will take years for the airline industry to return to its pre-coronavirus peak in passenger numbers.
FCO travel advice, no overseas travel indefinite.
UK lockdown likely to last into May.
938 deaths in UK in last 24 hours on Wednesday. Exceeds worst day in Italy.
People have died due to criminal failure. Failure to act sooner. Failure to ban public gatherings and sporting events, close pubs bars clubs, schools, lockdown London. Then add lack of testing, airports open with no screening, rogue employers forcing workers into work putting their lives at risk, failure to provide protective equipment for medical staff, lack of ventilators.
Until such time as UK has zero cases for at least a month, there can be no visitors from UK.
Hoteliers need to get their act together and live in the real world, look long term, not always short term fast buck.
A start would be to offer regulars special deals for end of this year year and for next year.
It will not be return to business as usual, but nor should it be.
We have a larger crisis looming, Climate Emergency.
