Tourists are flocking to Cyprus, but this is forcing hotels to hire pensioners to cope with the demand. Labour shortages are becoming an issue for the area with tourist numbers up in 2024.
Around 49,592 people were directly employed in the sector this year, yet many hotels continue to struggle to find suitable and sufficient staff. Thanos Michaelides, president of the hoteliers association Pasyxe, addressed the issue at a meeting this week.
To solve the issue, Pasyxe has suggested reintegrating people aged 55 to 65 into the industry. In terms of what roles these people would fill, the new staff could carry out roles in customer service or administration.
Michaelides says: “This is a practical way to bring quality back into the industry and offer a second career to professionals.”
The scheme is based on a similar idea which was used in Norway during a tourism boom.
Now, Cyprus could follow the same path as part of a wider strategy to widen its workforce. Pasyxe will also submit a proposal to the Interior Ministry for permits to construct staff accommodation.
The idea behind this is to improve conditions for workers in the hotel sector which will in turn have a positive impact on the industry as a whole.
This comes as many tourist hotspots in Europe have begun to suffer from overtourism, with locals desperate for change.
Across Europe, protests have been held with residents angry at what tourism is doing to their homes.
Which countries are suffering from overtourism?
One place which has been hit by protests is the Canary Islands in Spain, which saw graffiti pop up ordering tourists to “go home”.
Residents of Barcelona have also taken to the streets to protest after tourism has impacted housing prices in the city.
In Venice, Italy, a couple of dozen protesters unfurled a banner calling for a halt to new hotel beds in the lagoon city in front of two recently completed structures.