AKEL calls for specific targeted measures to address the challenges for tourism and energy

Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou during a tour of Paphos

 

24 March 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

Today we are on a tour of the city and district of Paphos amid the ongoing war in the Persian Gulf, amid rising fuel prices, and other adverse developments for Cyprus that affect both tourism and the cost of living here.

So we have come to Paphos to discuss matters with the key players in the tourism sector—hoteliers and hotel workers—who are the driving force of the economy. We will also visit Municipalities, in light of the discussion underway regarding various issues related to the reform of local government.

In light of this meeting, we have come to discuss measures proposed by AKEL, both regarding support for Cypriot tourism—which is under particular pressure due to the war—and measures to address the cost of living.

More specifically, regarding tourism, the first thing that needs to be done is to ensure Cyprus’s connectivity through various measures. Without flights, without connectivity, it is very difficult to sustain tourism.

Second, we will discuss the issue of hotel employees, given that due to the situation, hotels have not opened, or those that have opened must remain open. Since hotels have not opened, this raises the issue of employment for workers in the sector. We have the experience and the means to ensure that, with the support of workers, we preserve the workforce in this critical, sensitive, and economically vital tourism sector.

Third, in view of the current situation and cancellations of bookings, as well as the major uncertainty regarding how tourism will fare in the coming months—which is also linked to the duration of the war— we must, beyond connectivity, consider as a country how to organize an effective and targeted promotional campaign abroad to highlight what is, in fact, the reality: that Cyprus is a safe destination and that, of course, Cyprus can accommodate waves of tourists and that tourists can come here to spend their vacations without any problems. We must also consider how to support domestic tourism.

Whenever tourism faces a problem, we also remember domestic tourism. Normally, there should be consistent programs to support domestic tourism. However, this is an additional need arising from the current situation, and with the Easter holidays approaching, the government must implement specific programs to support domestic tourism starting with Easter, and subsequently we should also look at how we can provide incentives for domestic tourism that will revitalize the tourism industry.

Regarding the cost of living, it is extremely important to see how we can contain and, where possible, reduce energy prices. Many EU member states have already taken steps in this direction. We have long-standing positions on how this can be achieved. These positions have become particularly relevant due to the fact that fuel and energy prices have been on the rise.

For that reason, we are reiterating the issues we have been raising with the government for some time now: the need and proposal for a permanent reduction in the VAT rate on electricity from 19% to 5%, the need to abolish double taxation on fuel, to swiftly implement the structural changes needed to increase the share of renewable energy in the Cyprus Electricity Authority’s energy mix, so that electricity prices can be reduced, as well as a series of other measures we announced last Saturday.

We always state our intention and willingness to engage in a dialogue, both with the government and with other key players, but I must say that we are dissatisfied with the government’s stance; whenever we say we have proposals for the economy and for the need to take measures, the government responds by saying that AKEL’s position is populism. It is not populism – at least as far as AKEL is concerned.

Our proposals are specific and costed. We even point out which funding sources we can tap into to support these measures. The government has a responsibility not only to listen and engage in a dialogue, but even more so to move forward with decision-making and implementation. That is precisely why we believe the government must stop erecting barriers to dialogue by claiming that those with proposals are essentially pandering to the masses, and instead listen to the proposals we have elaborated and submitted, it should discuss them, and, of course, implement them. This is an urgent need.

It is also an urgent need to elaborate a comprehensive plan, one that includes scenarios depending on the duration and intensity of the ongoing war, because today’s needs are just the “tip of the iceberg.” If the war continues, we are certain that needs will multiply and problems will multiply as well, and the state and the government must be ready to confront these challenges in order to help society, which is struggling, but also to support the Cyprus economy.