Interested in fashion? Then make sure to visit the first Larnaca Fashion Day taking place in Ermou Sqare this evening (29^th April) from 6:30pm until 9:30pm. “Phaedra” will open the event with a spectacular dance display.

Organised by Yell It (Events, Advertising  & Media), Larnaca Municipality and the Shopkeepers Association of the Shopping Centre of Larnaca ( G.S.P.O.V.E.K.) the event will include a fashion show which will be divided into two parts.

Presented by Christina Demetriou, the first part will be a fashion show by the shops of Larnaca and the second part a show by fashion designers including Savvas Mallas, Gregory Englezos, Eliza Matheou, Lenalix, Tatiana Goddard and Pantelis Panteli, who promise many suprises.

Twenty eight shops, 6 designers, 60 models and 25 sponsors are participating in Larnaca Fashion Day, which is coordinated by the A Class Agency. Models taking part include Serania Kazamias-Winner of Next Top Model 2010, Sintorela Toli-Winner of Next Top Model 2011, Stella Demetriou-Top Model Greece,Klelia Yiasemidou-Star Cyprus 2008, Emily Nikolaidou-Next Top Model 2011 and Chris Christodoulides-the 4^th Finalist in Mr Universe.

The catwalk will run for 20m x 2m along Ermou Square and the stage is 6m x 3m.

Yu Shan restaurant are in charge of catering and CAVAWAY will supply the wine.

It is hoped that the Larnaca Fashion Day will become a regular event for the town, it aims to revitalise the shopping centre and contribute to the development of teh town.

Tickets cost 20 Euro and can be purchased from stores and designers taking part in the event, there are a limited number of VIP seats avaible at 40 Euro. Part of the proceed from the event will be given to the Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends (PA.SY.KA.F.).

The official journal of the Larnaca Fashion Day will be released in June 2011: it will include interviews and photos of the preparations, the show and the party following the event.

Distribution points will be announced on the website and the Facebook group Larnaca Fashion Day.

www.larnakafashionday.com.cy

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Unionists this week claimed the employment of large numbers of non-Cypriots in the hotel industry puts at risk the authenticity of Cyprus tourism and works to the detriment of Cypriot employees at a time of economic crisis.

Periclis Pericleous, general secretary of the Sek hotel employees sector told: “We don`t agree with the way most hoteliers function with regards to the employment of people from other EU member states. Hoteliers should have second thoughts and employ Cypriots for the benefit of the tourism industry and the economy.

“By employing non-Cypriots at the end of the day, we will have hotels without Cypriot culture, authenticity and services for promoting the island.

“Our position is that most hoteliers exploit workers from other European countries with regards to the violation of collective agreements and this why they prefer them.

“These people come here to work with the aim of returning to their home countries and they don`t react to labour violations because they fear they will lose their jobs. So they keep quiet. Hoteliers don`t bother to think that by employing non-Cypriots we don`t offer the right services to visitors. “Of course there are some hoteliers who are correct and run their business correctly,” he added.

Another major problem faced by Cypriot hotel employees, he said, was the long delay in receiving their unemployment benefit when hotels are closed for three to four months in the winter and they are out of work.

“This is a problem concerning hotels closed in the winter period. Despite efforts with the Labour Department, nothing has changed in the last few years.

“After contacting the Social Insurance Department about the problem, we hope that things will change and employees in local hotels will be receiving their unemployment benefit in time,” Pericleous said.

Hoteliers argue that solving the chronic problem of seasonality in the tourism industry would help attract more Cypriots to the industry and maintain the authenticity of Cyprus tourism.

“With measures to solve the problem of seasonality in the hotel industry, more Cypriots would find working in the sector more attractive.

“At the moment, working six months in the summer months and being unemployed for the second half of the year is not an attractive option for most Cypriots,” Cyprus Hotel Association (CHA) director general Zacharias Ioannides told.

“The problem with employing locals in the hotel industry is that in some areas there are not sufficient qualified individuals to fill the positions which require top quality service and training in the hospitality industry.

“Each hotel chooses to employ staff in line with its financial situation and the idea that other European hotel employees are cheaper is not always true because it depends on the country of origin and the standard of living there,” he added.

Although 40%-50% of hotel employees in Cyprus come from other European countries, hoteliers claim they are making every effort to offer the necessary training, including Greek language lessons and learning the history and culture of Cyprus so that the authenticity and known hospitality of Cyprus tourism is maintained.

From published figures available at the moment, it appears that more than half of people employed in the tourism industry are non-Cypriots and most of them come from other EU Member countries.

“This is the result of European legislation and European directives which allow for freedom of movement of labour within the European Union,” said CTO acting Director General Lefkos Fylaktides.

Although the CTO would prefer to have a larger percentage of Cypriot workers within the tourism sector, the organisation appreciates that this is a decision that lies within the domain of each tourism entrepreneur and cannot be regulated by law.

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