Filenews 25 May 2022 - by Adamos Adamou
With luxury camps - English glamping - but also with now legal guesthouses it is expected to enrich the tourist infrastructure of the country, since the legislative framework in this direction is expected to be soon to be voted before the Plenum of the Parliament. At least that is the goal of the House Commerce Committee, which yesterday concluded the article-by-article discussion of the government's bill on glamping, in the presence of Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdiou. Also began the discussion of the law proposal that was submitted for the licensing of hostels in our country, since despite the operation of several such units there is no legislative framework for their operation.
The law proposal submitted for hostels, following a discussion of the issue in the Trade Committee, where the gap and the problems that this creates primarily for the owners of hostels were found, was submitted by MPs Kyriakos Hatzigiannis (DISY) and Chrysi Pantelidis (DIKO), with the blessings as it appeared yesterday and the Deputy Minister of Tourism, who supports the initiative. In contrast to the bill that will govern the operation of luxury camps, which amends the Law on the Regulation of the Establishment and Operation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation, the legislation on hostels establishes new legislation, but again appoints the competent authority the Deputy Ministry of Tourism. According to the explanatory memorandum accompanying the proposal, its purpose is to introduce legislation regulating the establishment and operation of hostels.
"In particular, the proposed regulations define the framework for licensing and the creation of a register for the registration of hostels, which will be maintained by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism. Also, technical and functional specifications are defined, as well as safety and health specifications regarding the operation of hostels", the proposal states, adding that the proposed regulations are considered necessary in order to regulate the gap observed due to the absence of a legislative framework for the operation of hostels and to ensure the quality of their services.
With grace period
The aim of the proposal is primarily to facilitate the existing hostels, which have been in the air for years due to the legislative vacuum that exists, as they themselves claim. Today it is estimated that around 25 hostels operate and advertise on various platforms nationwide, while before the pandemic more operated. Due to the pandemic, the legislative gap highlighted the need to create a specific framework for the operation of hostels, since several entrepreneurs faced problems even in securing state support and an initiative for legislative regulations was developed by a group of entrepreneurs who were organized and created a link. These were treated positively, as it appears from the State, and as a result we were led to the bill, which is expected in a period of about 15 days to be discussed again in the Parliamentary Committee on Commerce and then - and before the summer holidays - to be brought before the Plenum of the Parliament.
Under the proposal, existing hostels will be given a grace period of three years for their registration in the register to be created. Businessmen in the sector view the bill positively but have some objections regarding some specifications that it sets – such as the operation of a 24-hour reception and service area that does not exist even in hotels of small categories – and are expected in the next few days to submit a relevant memorandum with their positions. They recognize, however, that their "legitimacy" will allow them to now use various sponsorships available for upgrading, as the Deputy Minister of Tourism said yesterday.
