Parliament will shape the final form of legislation governing entertainment venues and put it to a plenary vote, after a two-week consultation period failed to produce consensus between the government and affected parties.
As of Monday afternoon, Commerce Committee members had not received an update from the executive, and no common formula appears to have been found with stakeholders.
Submissions sent to parliament from affected associations show continued opposition to differentiating operating hours for dining and entertainment venues.
The bill, which goes back before the Commerce Committee today, sets targeted operating hours by category and establishment type.
Proposed hours
The changes include:
- Restaurants, taverns, pizzerias, cafés, and snack bars would operate daily from 6am to 1:30am.
- Beer houses and bars would remain open from 8am to 2:30am.
- Indoor function halls and reception venues would operate Monday to Sunday from 8am to 5am the following day.
- Outdoor reception venues would remain open from 8am to 1:30am.
- Indoor music and dance venues would operate every day from 8pm to 5am, whilst outdoor establishments would be open from 8pm to 1:30am.
- Discos and cabarets could operate Monday to Sunday from 8pm to 5am the following day.
Opposing views
Submissions forwarded to parliament reveal divisions. The Cyprus Association of Entertainment Centre Owners (PASIKA) rejects the differentiation of hours and the inclusion of function halls in the extended operating regime.
The association argues that if the bill is adopted, there will be knock-on effects, with turnover falling for taverns, restaurants, bars and beer houses.
It also notes that small businesses risk closure and job losses. According to PASIKA, the bill works to the benefit of clubs, music and dance venues, cabarets and function halls. Additionally, it speaks of unfair competition and the degradation of Cypriot tradition and cultural identity.
The Paphos Entertainment Centre Owners Association (SIKAP) also expresses opposition to the bill, which it argues favours a small category of large businesses and threatens the survival of hundreds of small restaurants, taverns and entertainment venues in neighbourhoods, remote areas such as Polis Chrysochous, and non-tourist centres.
SIKAP calls on parties to submit amendments to reduce operating hours and fines for entertainment venues. It also seeks limits on the Deputy Tourism Ministry’s excessive powers and exemptions for remote and non-tourist areas.
During the previous parliamentary discussion of the bill, Deputy Tourism Ministry Director General Costas Constantinou said all scope for consultation has been exhausted, as the bill has been under discussion since 2018.
Commerce Committee members have already warned that, due to the opposition, the article-by-article discussion of the bill will take place behind closed doors.
Support from Famagusta
The Famagusta Entertainment Centre Owners Association (SIKAA) takes a different view, believing the bill moves in the right direction. It distances itself from the “blanket criticism” and “catastrophist rhetoric” that totally and from the outset reject the bill, characterising it as a threat to the sector’s survival.
According to SIKAA, some provisions of the bill need reconsideration and improvement, such as re-evaluating operating hours for entertainment venues defined as dining spaces.
The association states it wants to make absolutely clear that the attempt to present the bill as supposedly universally rejected by the entire entertainment venue sector does not correspond to reality.
A significant number of sector representatives, including the association, assess the basic provisions of the new bill and the changes it introduces positively, recognising their importance for modernising and ensuring the sector’s smooth operation.
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