Nicosia, Cyprus. Only 141 of the 728 hotels operating in Cyprus hold an operating licence, according to Paphos hoteliers association president Evripides Loizides, who called for immediate state intervention.
He said procedural and institutional obstacles were preventing hotels from securing licences, while temporary permits are due to expire on January 1, 2027.
Licensing concerns
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Loizides described licensing as one of the hotel industry’s most serious issues and said licence levels remained particularly low.
He said responsibility did not lie exclusively with hoteliers, as several objective obstacles continued to affect applications.
Loizides said the state needed to address procedural and institutional problems through legislative intervention or amendments to relevant regulations.
He warned that failure to make the necessary changes before the temporary permit arrangements expire could have serious consequences for the industry.
Paphos occupancy
Loizides said hotel occupancy in Paphos fell by about 10 per cent in July compared with the same month in 2025.
He said this represented an improvement on May and June, when occupancy losses reached about 15 per cent.
Loizides said he was cautiously optimistic about August, estimating that the month would perform at satisfactory levels despite most reservations being made at the last minute.
