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The
Answer
is not
in the
Stats
A few
months
back I
discovered
Euro
Observatories
which
are
there
for the
general
public
to
report
profiteering
from the
introduction
of the
Euro. If
proven
the
business
would be
dealt
with
very
seriously
by the
Ministry
or so
they
said. A
couple
of weeks
back I
read
there
had in
fact
been
complaints
to the
observatories
regarding
price
increases
and
conversions
but it
transpires
the
ministry
can only
advise
the
miscreants
of their
bad
practise
and very
little
else
other
than put
them on
a dodgy
traders
list.
Now
that’s
what I
call
serious
action.
I also
believe
the CTO
are
conducting
spot
checks
on
restaurants
to
ensure
they are
within
the law
regarding
uniforms,
cleanliness,
clearly
placed
price
lists
and the
general
appearance
of the
premises.
If for
example
prices
on menus
and
receipts
do not
match
the
consumer
is asked
to
complain
via a
central
help
lines
and the
offender
will be
in
seriously
dealt
with.
Perhaps
they
will be
put on a
dodgy
traders
list
too.
For the
past
five
year I
have
eagerly
anticipated
the
thrill
of the
annual
tourism
figures
and the
spend
per head
from
each
country.
It’s a
bit like
the
football
results,
Germans
tourist
down 4%
and
their
spend
down
CY£7.91
per day.
Dutch
tourist
down
2.3% and
their
spend
per day
down
CY£5.27
per day.
And so
it goes
on,
quite
why I
have no
idea and
I wonder
if the
powers
that be
have
either.
What
does it
prove?
The
Dutch
have
more
money!
The
English
are more
C2, D or
E than
they
used to
be.
Problem!
Where
have all
the A, B
and C1’s
gone!
Avrio
avrio
next
year we
will
look.
Rewind
three
years to
September
2004 and
CTO
Chairman
was
shouting
that
ripping
off
holiday
makers
was the
gangrene
of the
Cyprus
tourist
industry.
He noted
that
while
arrivals
dropped
six per
cent in
August
04,
income
plunged
10.4 per
cent
year on
year. He
said it
showed,
and
quite
correctly,
that
either
visitors
are
spending
less,
the
island
is
attracting
less
well-heeled
tourists
or both.
Not
rocket
science
is it.
He
maintained
the
biggest
problem
facing
the
industry
today
(September
2004)
was
profiteering
and
unless
this
mentality
changed,
all of
the work
being
put into
the CTO
strategic
plan for
tourism
would be
wasted.
He
quoted a
family
paying
£3 each
for an
ice
cream
and
others
being
charged
£77 for
a taxi
from
Larnaca
to
Polis.
“We
cannot
continue
with
this
mentality
because
what we
manage
to build
up
through
the
strategic
plan is
spoiled
by this
behaviour,”
So what
has
happened
in the
last
three
years?
Statistics,
more
statistics,
a lot of
talk and
hardly
any
action
resulting
in a
total
waste of
time,
effort
and for
what
purpose.
To
provide
statistic
of
course
because
you can
hide
things
with
numbers
and it
keeps a
few
people
in a
job. But
the
statistics
don’t
get to
the root
of the
problem
they
just
confirm
the
identity.
The
people
lucky
enough
to live
here
vote
with
there
feet. If
they get
ripped
off in a
shop or
restaurant
some
might
complain
at the
point of
sale.
More
likely
is they
get
home,
say I
will not
go there
again
and
promptly
tell all
their
friends
about
the
unsavoury
experience.
Result,
the
place is
blacklisted.
Tourist
are no
different
it’s
merely a
question
of
common
sense
and not
sticking
your
political
head in
a bucket
of wet
sand.
It’s not
a cheap
travel
destination
so by
paying
more for
their
holiday
they are
not
going to
be happy
about
being
ripped
off when
they get
here.
They go
home and
say the
island
is nice
but
expensive
and we
got
turned
over.
They
tell
there
friends
and they
don’t
come
back.
The idea
of
calling
help
line
almost
certainly
wouldn’t
appeal
even if
they
knew
about
it. Did
you know
there
was a
help
line?
How
often do
we read
hotels
are
under
booked,
restaurants
and
tavernas
are half
full,
and
retail
revenue
is down?
It’s ok
the
Cavalry
are
coming
in the
form of
a new
budget
airline
operating
between
Leeds
and
Paphos
twice a
week
with a
seat
price of
less
than £60
each
way.
Let’s
hope
it’s
full of
A, B and
C1
passengers
who earn
about
£80,000
and
prefer
budget
airlines
and home
made
sandwiches
to
business
class
and a
bottle
of
Chianti
with
their
meal.
The CTO
has a
master
plan
which
includes
a
reduction
in the
number
of all
inclusive
holidays
which in
theory
will
encourage
tourists
to
abandon
their
hotel
and eat
in local
restaurants
and
tavernas.
The
logical
extension
of which
is
hacked
off
hoteliers,
more
ripped
of
tourists
and less
visitors
next
year.
Of
course
it isn’t
every
shop,
restaurant
and bar
or
taverna
forcing
the
issue
and some
innocent
parties
are
being
tarred
with the
same
brush
but
that’s
reality.
There
was a
problem
in 2004
and it’s
still a
problem
now so
the
intervening
three
years
has
produced
nothing,
so stop
saying
we will
deal
with the
offenders
seriously
and then
delivering
nothing
more
than a
verbal
ASBO.
Producing
reams of
figures
on how
much
Belgians
spend on
Souvlakia
per day
isn’t
going to
cure
anything.
Statistics
are
historical
facts
reflecting
whatever
you
chose.
For
example,
rregardless
of where
you
stand on
the
issue of
the U.S.
involvement
in Iraq,
here's
an
interesting
statistic.
There
has been
a
monthly
average
of
160,000
US
troops
in the
Iraq
theatre
of
operations
during
the last
22
months,
and a
total of
2,867
deaths.
That
gives a
firearm
death
rate of
60
deaths
per
100,000
soldiers.
The
firearm
death
rate in
Washington
D.C. was
80
deaths
per
100,000
persons
for the
same
period.
That
means
you are
about
25% more
likely
to be
shot and
killed
in the
U.S.
Capital
than you
are in
Iraq.
Conclusion:
The
Americans
should
pull out
of
Washington.
Statistics,
figures,
plans
and talk
mean
nothing
without
action
so
either
put up
or shut
up.
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