Cyprus welcomes British tourists

From 1 May 2021, Cyprus welcomes back British tourists.

Sounds too good to be true? Unfortunately yes, it is too good to be true, Cyprus tourist industry once again massive fail.

British tourists cannot travel, cannot travel on 1 May 2021, to do so would be to break the law with a fine of £10,000 and ten years in prison, quarantine on return to the UK (in Scotland mandatory hotel quarantine), plus three coronavirus tests.

Once again massive fail Cyprus tourist industry.

We welcome British tourists from 1 May if have had two coronavirus vaccinations.

It would be illegal for anyone to travel from UK to Cyprus from 1 May 2021, face ten years in prison, £10,000 fine, on return would have to go into quarantine. Government has repeatedly warned not to book overseas holidays for the summer. From Monday, anyone leaving the UK will have to complete a form stating their reasons for leaving. Failure to complete the form, £200 fine.

Once again lost opportunity over the winter necessary structural changes to tourism industry:

• ban all-inclusive hotels
• restrict tour companies to less than 20% of bookings
• no tour operator more than 10%
• tour companies settle bill at end of each month
• encourage long term stay
• encourage direct bookings

The focus should be on fewer tourists, quality tourists, who stay longer.

The tour companies have a stranglehold, rip off travellers and hotels, bring in the dregs of the tourist industry, all-inclusive hotels killing local economies.

If thinking of visiting Cyprus, leave to last minute, contact hotel and negotiate a good deal for long stay. Make booking very provisional. If forced to cancel, have the courtesy to let the hotel know.

Do not book through a tour company, they are selling holidays that do not exist, then problem obtaining refund. Do not accept worthless vouchers. Tui has massive debts. Airlines have to refund within 7 days, package holidays within 14 days.

In Cyprus, required to wear mask everywhere, all the time. 300 euro fine if in breach of coronavirus regulations.

Check with hotel coronavirus precautions. Some are very good, others are very poor. For example sunbeds packed too close together.

The situation is very volatile. Last year, a mad panic by the few remaining British tourists, when Cyprus placed on quarantine list, profiteering by airlines.

You may have been vaccinated, two doses of vaccine not one, should still take precautions, social distance, wear a mask, avoid crowded noisy bars, if eat out, sit outside. There is now a rise in cases in England due to failure to follow coronavirus rules.

In the UK, over 21 million have revived their first coronavirus vaccine, 40% of the adult population.

Only a tiny percentage of Cypriots have received first vaccine. Are they to guarantee, only those vaccinated will be employed in coffee shops, restaurants, hotels? Bars should not be open.

Premature, inviting tourists into a country when locals will not have been vaccinated. Puts locals and tourists at risk.

There should be no tourists until the end of season. Random screening of arrivals, temperature scanning of all arrivals.

Cyprus is currently in lockdown. Any relaxation should be slowly slowly, with pause and monitoring at each stage, with local lockdowns if necessary.

Last year, Limassol saw a sharp rise in cases, night time curfew imposed, and yet it was permitted to travel from Limassol to other parts of the island.

The EU has been slow to roll out vaccination programmes, lagging a long way behind UK.

UK has lax border controls, enabling Brazil and South African mutations to enter the UK. Restrictions on travel into the UK from Portugal are circumvented by crossing the border into Spain and traveling to the UK via Spain.

Spain, Greece and Cyprus are in a race to the bottom to attract tourists. No lessons learnt from last year. By summer, we will again see a surge in coronavirus cases.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56289054
https://medium.com/…/tour-company-tui-heading-for…
https://medium.com/…/doughnut-economics-cyprus…

Collapse of tourist industry in Protaras

Walking along the seafront Protaras brought home the scale of the collapse of the tourist industry. Closed and abandoned restaurants and hotels.

Nicolas Tavern traditional Greek-Cypriot tavernsa derelict #Protaras #Cyprus pic.twitter.com/UYgyNBZojf

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) October 10, 2020

Starbucks empty and deserted #Starbucks #coffee #coffeeshop #Protaras #Cyprus pic.twitter.com/zlZqLndYcc

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) October 10, 2020

Miyu coffee shop closed and abandoned #coffee #coffeeshop #FigTreeBay #Protaras #Cyprus pic.twitter.com/kf6KT6gv4E

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) October 10, 2020

closed and abandoned restaurant #FigTreeBay #Protaras #Cyprus pic.twitter.com/KKCOOf4Xpl

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) October 10, 2020

Fig Tree Bay #Protaras #Cyprus pic.twitter.com/3oT8qnp0ie

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) October 10, 2020

Fig Tree Bay #Protaras #Cyprus pic.twitter.com/qoBL2DojdN

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) October 10, 2020

Restaurants empty shells.

Most of the hotels closed and abandoned, weeds growing in flower beds. Sunrise Beach Hotel pool drained but not secured or cordoned off.

Constantinos fake 5* hotel one of the few open, sunbeds jammed close to one another, not safe.

Early dinner at Nissiotis, a restaurant overlooking Protaras Pier.

Why printed menud of several shttest. Why not simplify the menu to one pronted sheetm which is then thriwn away?

Service iffy, but at keats staff were corredctkyh wearing gace maks, not dangling atroundtheir mouths. Generous portion size

Walking back a long the main road before reaching the main road hotels only opened last few years closed. Supermarkets bars closed. <

A couple of bars that are open not busy, loud music blasting out tables to close, high risk for covid-19.

The handful of restaurants that were open were busy, busy with Cypriots not tourists.

<

— to be continued —

Empty sunbeds

Protaras rows of empty sun beds

Rows of empty sunbeds.

• Empty bars and restaurants
• Where have all the tourists gone?
• Collapse of the tourist economy in Cyprus and the need to divest

Empty bars and restaurants

Eden Square taverna opened June already closed

Guru daytime almost as empty nighttime

Saturday night, Marcello’s and Lemongrass in the centre of Protaras were busy, as was the Italian across the street, but these were the exceptions, not the norm. And they are only busy because part of Sunrise group and it is an alternative to eating in hotel or apartment.

No 1, a few rows of tables by the street occupied, the tables behind, empty.

Japanese restaurant in Eden Square empty.

New restaurant in Eden Square that only opened in June, already closed.

A new restaurant opened in Eden Square last year, it opened end of May, a few weeks later it had closed.

A coffee bar in Eden Square, last year was replaced by a new coffee bar. It did not open until June, by end of August had already closed.

The coffee bar became part of Guru. A bar with white seats, expensive prices and moronic music blasting out. A recipe for failure. Saturday night, the extension empty, in the original part, a handful of people, all but empty.

• Guru faces reality
• Where have all the tourists gone?
• Collapse of the tourist economy in Cyprus and the need to divest

No tourists

Protaras deserted beach

Protaras deserted beach

Several days ago a friend posted a couple of pictures of the beach. It was deserted.

No tourists.

Now middle of third week in May.

Looking along the beach yesterday, rows of empty sunbeds.

This morning little better.

Boats that sail from the pier twice a day, of three boats only one sailing.

Last May boats only sailing in the morning, not in the afternoon.

This May worse than last May, which was worse than May the year before, which was bad, the year Cyprus faced economic crisis when EU decided to trash the Cypriot economy.

Hotels are sitting empty, staff not paid, one hotel group has gone bust.

• Collapse of the tourist economy in Cyprus and the need to divest

All very much as predicted in a report last year, that if the problems were not addressed, the collapse of Cypriot tourist economy would accelerate.

look out point sails hang in tatters

A few years ago, at great expense, a coastal path was constructed along the beach. It has proved to be very successful, but. This time of year, it would be a delight, spring wild flowers. A couple of years ago, the wild flowers were all scraped away with a  digger. They have never recovered. Overlooking the beach, a look out point, shaded with sails. Or was. The sails hang in tatters. All winter, but no attempt to repair the sails.

These are but a  few examples indicative of why the tourist industry is collapsing.

Each year, more tourists from the bottom end of the market which drive away the quality tourists.

Each year, more fast food takeaways.

Dependency upon any one country makes highly vulnerable to economic situation in that country. It used to be the Brits, of late the Russians.

Valdimir Putin has done an excellent job of destroying the Russian economy. Russian economy collapsed, rouble collapsed, no Russian tourists.

Dependency upon a handful of big tour companies, rather than intelligent use of internet and direct bookings, means on a whim, tourist flow turned off as easily as turning a tap.

All inclusive, means no money finds its way into the local economy.

• PHOTOS No tourists

Exploitation of children in orphanages in Bali

orphans in Bali

We are used to reading in Dickens of the exploitation of children in orphanages, their poor living conditions, forced to work. That was Industrial Revolution England. Travel to modern-day Bali and you will find exactly the same model for orphanages run by equally crooked and unscrupulous owners.

There are 78 registered orphanages in Bali. All are private. Almost all are commercial scams exploiting children for tourist dollars. Such is the profitability of these private orphanages that their numbers have doubled in the last few years.

Many of the children are not orphans. The owners of the orphanages persuade poor families to part with their children to fill their orphanages as to them they are a source of income.

The children do not receive education, are poorly fed, lack proper health care, are poorly housed, live in dirty squalid conditions, are forced into child labour, begging on the streets, street performers, are working on dangerous building sites.

The children are beaten by the owners of the orphanages.

The owners of these private orphanages are becoming rich on the back of the children, driving around in expensive cars, sending their own children to university.

The corrupt police, social workers, judges, politicians, in the pocket of the owners turn a blind eye to the abuses.

Taxi drivers in league with the orphanages deliver gullible tourists to their doorstep.

It is the tourists who are financing this abuse of the orphans. It is their tourist dollars that is financing child exploitation. If they no longer donated money, or at least asked questions, asked to inspect inside, talked to the children, the orphanages would close as there would be no incentive to run them.

– Bali orphanages: How tourist cash funds a racket
– Exposing Bali’s Orphanages
– Bali’s orphanage scam
– Children exploited by fake orphanages in Indonesia

Tourists to Pilgrims

tourists to pilgrims

If you are searching for something more than temporary spiritual relief, then Christian spirituality is a source for a deeper life. We are all seeking depth, meaning and fellow travellers to share the journey with. Our highly consumptive, technological culture has produced a generation of spiritual tourists who pursue a deep place of rest, but have no perceivable destination. Buying a new car, clothes or gym membership gives temporary relief but doesn’t bring lasting rest or centeredness. Even with our relative wealth, we still have a deep inner poverty.

The ancient narratives of Christian spirituality offer renewed, contemporary wisdom into this context. Exploring and embodying the teachings of Jesus through prayer, contemplation, and the practise of community, helps us become more truly human.

Life is a journey of ‘human becoming’, within which we shift from being lonely tourists to fellow pilgrims whose destination is God in whom we find rest.

Encouragement

Wisdom sayings from Jesus:

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Prayer for the Journey
Christ be before me,
Christ be beside me,
Christ be all around.
May the peace of Christ go with me, wherever God may send me.
May God guide me through the wilderness, protect me through the storm.
May God bring me home rejoicing at the wonders God has shown me.
May God bring me home rejoicing once again into our doors.
Amen

— dekhomai

Also see

The History of the Pilgrimage to Compostela