Filenews 11 August 2021 - by Adamos Adamou
A lifeline for the hotel industry in the midst of the pandemic appears to be the Subsidised Summer Holiday Programme adopted as an incentive to strengthen the vaccination programme since the bookings made up to 30 July concerned the making of 180,000 nights in the hotels participating in the programme.
Oxygen for hotels will continue after August when this programme expires after the Ministry's Domestic Tourism Aid Plan, which will continue until the end of November, strengthens efforts to lengthen the tourist season.
Based on our information from the Ministry of Tourism until the end of July, more than 21,000 reservations were made in the 220 hotels participating in the Programme of Subsidised Summer Holidays concerning more than 55,000 people and with which more than 180,000 nights were or will take place. It is recalled that the programme in force from 15 July and ending on 31 August involved tourist accommodation, which offers a maximum price of €80 (including VAT) for a double room, with breakfast, per day, with a minimum stay of three nights. The beneficiaries of the program are all permanent residents on the island, who have either been vaccinated with at least one dose or have recovered from the virus.
However, as mentioned, the end of the Subsidised Summer Holiday Programme at the end of the month does not mark the end of the subsidised holidays and nights for the residents of the country since the Plan to Strengthen Domestic Tourism which will continue until the end of November is restored.
According to reports, despite thoughts being made about a new invitation to tourism companies to participate in this project, for the time being at least, it does not appear that an update of the existing list will be attempted. Therefore those interested in holidays "within" and after August will have to choose from among the 170 tourist accommodations that have already expressed participation in the project.
Holidays until November
Unlike the Subsidised Summer Holidays Programme, the Domestic Tourism Aid Scheme is aimed at all residents of Cyprus without the condition that they are vaccinated or have been sick. The project involves tourist accommodations offering the maximum price of €60 with breakfast for a double room per night and provides for 35% of the cost of accommodation, including child charges, to be covered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although the grant rate is the same as that provided for in the Subsidised Summer Holiday Programme, the maximum price is set as stated at €60 instead of €80 and the minimum stay is set at two nights, instead of the three provided for in the programme currently running. It is noted that the Domestic Tourism Aid Plan has been in place since last year and has so far received several extensions due to the negative effects of the pandemic on tourism with the aim of strengthening and facilitating hotel companies to operate. The last extension given to the project concerned the period from 1 June 2021 to 30 November, with the exception of the months of July and August, months which were finally "covered" by the Subsidised Summer Holiday Programme.
