Brits heading to top holiday spot this summer could find hotels and restaurants closed

BRITS heading to a favourite holiday destination this summer could find hotels and restaurants closed to the public.

There is growing concern among locals that some hospitality businesses may not be able to operate during the peak travel period this year.

Cyprus is a holiday hotspot for Brits, with more than a million visiting each year.

However, concern over staff shortages has got people worried about whether or not they will be able to open this summer.

The Famagusta branch of the hotels’ association Pasyxe said: “The reason for our concern is the serious lack of staff, which may even endanger the operation of some hotels.

“The closer we get to the opening of the summer tourist season, the more the concern of hoteliers increases, which in many cases even endangers the operation of some hotel units,”

The union has called for the country's government to speed up the process of issuing work permits for staff from other countries so the hotels and restaurants can open.

They continued: “Pasyxe Famagusta calls on the Ministry of Labour to immediately proceed with the issuance of permits for personnel from third countries, through simple and short procedures, because otherwise all of the good work that has been achieved in the Cypriot tourism sector in recent years risks being destroyed due to a lack of employees."

Similar problems affected the island last year, with restaurants and hotels in the tourist destination of Paphos making similar appeals to the government a year ago.

Paphos Leisure Centre Owners Association (Sikap) president Angelos Onisiforou warned: "Paphos will face a huge problem and many [hotels] will not be able to reopen," according to .

There could be other concerns for Brits heading to Cyprus as well, with car rental prices soaring in the country.

A report carried out by  has shown that the typical weekly cost has risen by more than £100 in seven of nine popular holiday destinations.

Shockingly, charges have doubled in some places, while the average increase across popular tourist destinations was 72 per cent.

Which? analysed data from Zest Car Rental, a car rental broker, for more than 5,000 rentals in nine vacation spots, including France, Cyprus, and the US.

In Cyprus, a seven-day rental would now cost holidaymakers £248, up 112 per cent on pre-pandemic rates.

According to Which?, a global lack of new vehicles was one factor in the increase over the previous year.

Demand is still very high this year, and according to Zest, advance bookings are up 132 per cent compared to last year.

Additionally, rental companies are facing higher staffing costs and insurance premiums.