Restaurants not so happy

However odd it may seem; restaurant and café owners are not so enthusiastic with the expected turnout of their clientele during the World Cup.

Phanos Leventis, the General Secretary of entertainment and leisure establishments (PASIKA), said that “pubs and some sports bars may see some increase in their clientele during this one month. However, most cafes and restaurants are not expected to see a tangible increase in revenue.

“Even those set to see their business increase during the World Cup, will do so after having invested seriously in equipment such as the latest television sets with the best definition available and sound systems”, said Leventis.

He said people will prefer to go to a bar on the coast to watch a game due to the warm weather.

“If they do decide to watch a game late in the evening, they will prefer to do so in one of the bars near the sea.”

Echoing the same concerns, Yiannis Tsoutsoukis, owner and director of Di Mario Lounge Café in Nicosia, said he does not expect a significant rise in business during the World Cup as the event will be broadcast on free-to-air state TV.

He said that people would rather gather at a friend’s house and watch the games.

Tsoutsoukis compared the World Cup pull to the Europa League, which is also free-to-watch on CyBC, as opposed to popular Champions League games which are on pay-TV only.

“During a Champions League game, we may have a full house, while for Europa League games we barely have more customers than we would have had if it had been a day without a match,” said Tsoutsoukis.

The cafe owner said screening football only accessible on subscription channels is a costly business.

“In order to be able to screen all the games that would interest Cypriot fans, that is the local championship and the Champions League, we spend EUR 600 monthly on subscriptions,” said Tsoutsoukis, voicing concerns of the whole sector.