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Limassol - Costas Tsielepis & Co staff and guests were treated last weekend to a wine tasting extravaganza where beer guzzlers were turned to sommeliers and wine philistines to oenophiles. The event was held οn Friday, 30 March 2023 at Cava Protasis on Ioannou Polemi Street in Limassol.Staff were first treated to a Twist Santero Prosecco and an impressive selection of cheese and meat platters, followed by a full menu of hot and cold munchies.Owner of Cava Protasis, Xenophon Lambrou, and Chelco VAT Managing Director, Alexis Tsielepis, a wine connoisseur himself, then took to the stage exposing participants to the wondrous secrets of fine wines.The wine tasting part then ensued with a Papaioannou Estate Malagousia and an LQLC Rose Pinot Noir, from the wineries of actor, John Malkovich.The evening culminated with a red Magna More Valpolicella Classico, which by popular admission, stole the show.Apart from wine tasting, the evening also included games, including an exercise where staff had to match their peers to their baby pictures.Winners of the game were accountant Nikoletta Nikou and auditor Evie Constantinou who managed to guess the most. They each won a case of the wines they just tasted.More fun staff events are scheduled throughout the year.

Limassol – Costas Tsielepis & Co took part last Saturday in this year’s Limassol Marathon with the Tsielepis Running Team demonstrating once again that a healthy mind should go hand in hand with a healthy body.The members of the Tsielepis Running Team participated in the annual event’s 5Km Corporate Run alongside more than 4.000 participants from 193 companies who despite the drizzling rain flooded the Limassol coastal road to help raise money for local charities.The team finished 130th with an average time of 30mins.First from the Tsielepis Team and 132nd overall came Andreas Andreou, with a very respectable time of 24.13mins. Second came Nikoletta Nikou in 652nd place with a time of 28.21mins and third, young Petros Petrou with a time of 32.15mins.Some of the team members ran while others walked briskly. They all finished the race however smiling and feeling a sense of accomplishment.Events over the Limassol Marathon weekend included a full marathon, a half marathon, a 10km energy race, a 5km city race, the 5km corporate race, a 5km City race and a 1km youth race.First overall in the 5Km corporate race came Dimitris Christou from the Cyprus Stroke Association with a time of 16:48mins. The full marathon on Sunday, 19 March was won by Matthew Blunden, from Great Britain with a time of 2:31:12.

Limassol - Costas Tsielepis & Co staff and guests tried their skills in singing last weekend during Tsielepis Karaoke Night, which revealed that some of the firm’s employees may be in the wrong business.The event was held οn Friday, 17 March 2023 at TePee Rock Bar in the Yermasoyia tourist area and more than 30 members of staff showed up to sing, or attempt to sing, their favourite hits. The night started with hefty dosages of finger foods and the mandatory alcoholic beverages and soon enough the TePee DJ cranked up the Karaoke machine.The Top Voice Award went to VAT Lawyer with Chelco VAT Ltd, Marios Nikolaides, who can easily swap law for singing.Audit soon followed suit with a series of solid performances, while accounting and corporate administration also demonstrated a surprising dexterity at the microphone.Singing and dancing lasted till the midnight hours. At the end, they all agreed that for some this was a night to remember and for others… to forget.More fun staff events are scheduled throughout the year.

Nicosia - Nikos Christodoulides, 49, was elected last Sunday new President of Cyprus. Christodoulides, a former foreign minister and government spokesperson, ran against career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, a former chief negotiator in peace talks with Turkey and a former permanent representative of Cyprus to the United Nations. In a runoff round, 204,680 (51,92%) of people voted for Christodoulides, while 189,522 (48,08%) voted for Mavroyiannis. Christodoulides was backed by centre and right-of-centre parties (Diko, Depa, Edek, Solidarity) and Mavroyiannis by left-wing AKEL. Both said they ran as independents. Christodoulides led polls from the very first day of his candidacy. Α close associate of outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades, Christodoulides caused a split in the ruling conservative Disy party when he announced he would run against party leader Averof Neophytou, who was eliminated in the first round of the elections. The 8th President of the Republic of Cyprus faces problems ranging from a deadlock in reunification talks to the Cyprus problem, labour disputes amid runaway inflation and a fallout from corruption scandals, as well as a spike in migration that authorities are unable to cope with. Christodoulides has frequently been in the public eye in the past decade, with the persona of a young, energetic politician offering fresh ideas. He is married to is married to Philippa Karsera and has four daughters, Ioanna, Ekaterini, Despina-Maria, and Phoebe. Outgoing Nicos Anastasiades has been in power since 2013, having been re-elected in 2018.

Limassol – In a celebration of humanity and solidarity, Costas Tsielepis & Co Ltd staff and guests donated blood this week to help save lives. The blood drive was held on Tuesday, 15 November 2022 at the firm’s offices and lasted throughout the morning.   Cyprus is ranked first among EU countries for volunteer blood donations in proportion to its population. One pint of blood can save up to three lives. A single victim of a serious car accident can require more than 50 pints of blood while the average red blood cell transfusion in cancer patients is 3.4 pints, requiring four donors. The Blood Drive was part of the company’s Social and Corporate Responsibility programme.

Limassol - Tsielepis staff ate, drank and chatted the night away last Friday evening during Tsielepis Meze Night at Retro Tavern at Kalavasos village. Set literally on the main road that passes through Kalavasos, Retro Tavern offered the perfect setting for a team-building soirée, accompanied by delicious Cyprus meze and an open bar. There was not a single word spoken about work and the evening offered everyone the opportunity to turn their colleagues into friends and drain away the stress of the daily routine at the office. The Tsielepis staff actually closed the place down and reluctantly made their way back to Limassol after the Retro Tavern waiters discretely started storing the tables away. Next up on the office social calendar is a Karaoke Night.

Nicosia - The Council of Ministers decided last week to extend the deadline for the submission of income tax declarations by individuals for the tax year 2021 to the end of August. The Ministers decree extends the deadline for the submission of the personal income tax return of an individual (employee, pensioner and self-employed without accounts), as well as the deadline for the payment of the tax due according to the said declaration (self-assessment), for the tax year 2021, from 31 July 2022 to 31 August2022. Last week, Tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides, had clarified that any extension to the filing deadline would be accompanied by an extension for the payment of any outstanding taxes arising from the tax form. Income tax forms for 2021 must be filed by salaried employees, pensioners and self-employed individuals with a gross income exceeding €19.500.

Nicosia - Tsielepis staff ate, drank and puffed the night away last Friday evening during Tsielepis Cigar Night at Cohiba Atmosphere Nicosia cigar lounge. The cigar lounge, owned by Costas Tsielepis & Co partner, Alexis Tsielepis, a well-known cigar aficionado, was reserved just for the Tsielepis staff. Alexis’ guests were seated in the lounge’s gorgeous gardens and greeted with a Habanos Quai D Orsay No. 50, followed by a Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona. To complement the unlimited supply of cigars, Alexis, along with the lounge’s chef, Kyriacos, put together a food menu, complete with two signature cocktails just for the evening, which made cigar night a memorable gastronomic experience as well.   For more information on Cohiba Atmosphere Nicosia click here.

Nicosia - The arrivals of tourists in Cyprus reached 372,324 in June 2022 compared to 184.159 in June 2021, recording an increase of 102.2%, according to data published by the Statistical Service of Cyprus this week. For the period of January – June 2022, arrivals of tourists totalled 1,221,382 compared to 340,984 in the corresponding period of 2021, 255,675 in the period of January – June 2020 and 1,631,023 arrivals in the period of January – June 2019. Arrivals from the United Kingdom were the main source of tourism for June 2022, with a share of 41.8% (155,703) of total arrivals, followed by Israel with 7.3% (27,288), Poland with 5.8% (21,445), Germany with 5.6% (20,906), Sweden with 5.0% (18,478) and Greece with 3.9% (14,435). For a percentage of 82.0% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in June 2022 was holidays, for 10.9% to visit to friends and relatives and for 7.0% business. Respectively, in June 2021, 82.8% of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays, 10.9% visited friends or relatives and 6.3% visited Cyprus for business reasons. At the same time, tourist arrivals in Cyprus so far in 2022 are at 75% compared to 2019, said Deputy Minister of Tourism, Savvas Perdios, pointing out that in the context of the current challenges the industry is facing, that percentage is “not bad at all.” Perdios noted that 2019 was a record year for tourism, with more than 4 million arrivals. “So far, we are satisfied,” he said, “and compared to 2021, we are in a much better position.” He added that last year ended at about 50% compared to 2019 and the aim is to exceed last year’s results. There is reserved optimism for the remainder of the year, said Perdios and from what it looks like July, August and September will be very good. On the losses from the Russian market, Perdios mentioned that they amount to 800.000 tourism arrivals, which cannot be replaced overnight.