Cyprus Mail 28 March 2022 - by Jonathan Shkurko
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| Deputy Minister for Tourism Savvas Perdios |
Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios will submit a plan to extend the subsided holiday scheme aiming to boost local tourism during the next Council of Ministers on Wednesday.
Speaking to state broadcaster CyBC radio on Monday, the Deputy Minister said the proposal will aim to extend the domestic tourism scheme until the end of July as Cyprus prepares for the loss of the Russian and Ukrainian tourist markets.
The scheme, which offers generous state paid for discounts at participating hotels and holiday lets for permanent residents, was introduced in the wake of the pandemic in 2020.
Perdios also met Akel general secretary Stefanos Stefanou on Monday, after the party sounded the alarm regarding the anticipated shortfall of some 800,000 Russian and Ukrainian holidaymakers this summer.
Last week, the party proposed a plan to the deputy ministry of tourism revolving around two main pillars.
The first was the speedy intervention of the state in finding new markets or boosting existing markets so that the largest number of tourists could be brought in.
The second was to boost domestic tourism, which, according to Stefanou, had provided answers during the pandemic.
Following the meeting, the Akel general secretary said in an announcement that after two years of fighting against the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism industry is now in dire need of support from the state.
“By addressing our concerns to the deputy ministry of tourism, before and during the meeting with Perdios, we wanted to highlight the importance of boosting local tourism to make up for the losses of the past years and for the predicted lack of Russian and Ukrainian visitors during the upcoming summer,” Stefanou said.
“The subsidised holiday scheme will give respite to hoteliers and, in general, to people working in the tourism industry.
“Based on the experience we have gained after two years of closures and lockdowns, it is clear that, due to the ongoing conflict, we must protect and support workers and businesses that will have to cope with issues once more.”
Stefanou then thanked Perdios for the willingness to entertain “a constructive dialogue” and for recognising that people working in the tourism industry “will need to be helped by the government to overcome all the difficulties thrown at them.”
