First Choice apologises for ‘bad taste’ hotel entertainment
First Choice has apologised after one of its resorts staged entertainment which saw staff burst out of the restaurant kitchen in dark clothes firing fake guns.
The show, designed to promote a new casino at the Holiday Village Aliathon in Paphos, terrified customers who feared it was a terror attack.
It happened just days after 45 people were killed in a mass shooting at Istanbul airport and after the one-year anniversary of a beach massacre in Tunisia in which 38 people, most of them TUI customers, were shot dead.
A First Choice spokesman said: "This account of events is concerning to hear and we would like to apologise to guests who were present.
"First Choice can confirm that changes have been made to our entertainment programme with immediate effect and guidelines have been re-issued to our resort teams."
According to the Sun, staff were dressed as gangsters to advertise the new casino.
But guests said the prank was in bad taste and ‘could have given someone a heart attack’ in light of recent events.
Some regular guests said they were considering boycotting the hotel.
A similar incident happened last August at the five-star Grand Yazici Mares hotel in Icmeler, Turkey.
Jet2Holidays apologised to guests when staff dressed as ISIS-style gunmen and staged a poolside prank as part of a ‘Hollywood-themed’ show.
The hotel was busy was British customers from a number of UK tour operators, including Jet2Holidays, Thomson and Thomas Cook.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports