ACTE: Hotel industry under serious threat

Cyprus’ hotel industry is constantly and relentlessly being afflicted by a reckless increase of short-term rental properties and ever-rising tourist flows to the occupied areas, the Association of Cyprus Tourism Enterprises (ACTE) has said.

“As regards the short-term rental properties, such as Airbnb, ACTE reiterates its serious concerns about the matter as the unfair competition is constantly on the rise,” the association said in an announcement. “On the one hand, there are thousands of accommodations that have yet to register and are therefore operating without any controls whatsoever, illegally and most likely tax-free, and on the other, there are properties that may have been entered in the register, but which provide hotel services without having to pay the relevant fees/taxes, and have the required licences without having to follow the same operating regulations with the hotels.”

ACTE also claims that the excessive number of properties being used as short-term rentals has led to a significant shortage of properties in the market – especially to rent for long-term residence – which in turn has led to a constant increase in property and rent prices.

“This is the reason why many European towns have long been introducing stricter regulations for the sector, relating to either the time-period that short-term rentals are allowed, or even the suspension of granting further licences for short-term rentals – and even banning short-term rentals in specific areas,” said ACTE, adding that it was high time the state took a serious and determined look at the matter.

“At the same time and while the tourism industry is trying to recover to the best of its abilities from the consequences of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, it is also taking a serious hit because of the vast number of tourists that appear to be ending up in the occupied areas,” it said. “This year, the phenomenon is more intense than ever and there are no specific measures and planning in place to mitigate it.”

It concluded by calling on the authorities to conduct an extensive study to determine the true extent of the problem and also propose specific solutions to deal with it.