Nicosia, Sept 11: Cyprus wants its taxi drivers to put away their gold medallions, cover up hairy belly buttons and ditch flashy rings to project a cleaner image among tourists. The island's licensing authority plans etiquette classes for its cabbies after surveys conducted among vacationers showed some grooming was needed, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. "Thick gold chains around the neck, sovereign rings on three of the five fingers...all this has got to go," the daily quoted an official at the licensing authority as saying. Explicit tattoos, shorts exposing hairy legs and flip-flops were also in for the chop, the official added.
About 2.5 million tourists flock to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus every year, over half of them from western Europe.

Bureau Report