Filenews 15 April 2022 - by Adamos Adamou
The first of the four sponsorship plans of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, which are also part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (SDS) of Cyprus, aiming at enriching and upgrading the country's tourism product, was approved on Wednesday by the Council of Ministers.
The decision refers to the "Sponsorship Scheme for the Upgrading of Traditional Restaurants or The Sale of Traditional Food Products with the possibility of their inclusion in the Taste of Cyprus pact", with a budget of eight million euros. The aim of the plan is to upgrade the Cypriot gastronomy and Cypriot products in general and is expected to be officially announced at the end of the month or the beginning of May at the latest. As the Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios told "F", the first announcement will concern 4 million euros. Euros that will be given this year and next year and then there will be a call for tenders again for the remaining amount. He said that the beneficiaries for the sponsorships will be licensed recreation centres, such as taverns and restaurants operating inside or outside tourist accommodation, with the prerequisite that they offer exclusively Cypriot cuisine, whether it is traditional or modern or a combination of them.
A combination of Cypriot cuisine with Greek e.g. or Cypriot with children's meals that do not fit into Cypriot cuisine (e.g. club sandwiches) are excluded, he said. The beneficiaries of the sponsorship will also be shops selling traditional food products, with the Deputy Minister saying that this is very important "because we believe there will be too much interest in setting up shops especially in the villages and the countryside and in the individual locations that are part of the Heartland of legend".
The Deputy Minister estimated that the plan will enhance the authenticity of the Cypriot product in these areas and our farmers, because they will know that with this plan "in order for someone to get a grant from the Deputy Ministry, one must respect the Cypriot gastronomy and therefore the Cypriot product".
According to him, sponsorships will be able to make it easier for businesses to join the quality pact of the Deputy Ministry "Taste Cyprus", which has very strict criteria and conditions. "Taste Cyprus" is not a prerequisite but it is a possibility, he said, mentioning that today many restaurants or even small shops could not join because they did not meet the aesthetic aspect of the criteria, because, for example, they had plastic chairs, advertising umbrellas, etc. "Now, with this sponsorship, they will upgrade their premises and will be able to join Taste Cyprus, a development that will allow them to receive free advertising from our website and in campaigns abroad, etc.," the deputy minister explained.
Savvas Perdios also said that the maximum amount that the deputy ministry will give will be 200,000 euros for each business, a significant amount, as he said, for small shops or restaurants. "With this amount you are essentially doing a total renewal," he explained, saying that the grant will be in the order of 50% of the total investment, but for businesses in the countryside the subsidy will go up to 65% and in the mountains, in remote and border areas, to 75% of the total proposed investment.
Perdios: What needs to change in restaurants
In his statements, the Deputy Minister also referred to the eligible costs of the project, including in them the replacement of plastic chairs and tables, umbrellas and shelters "in order to remove the advertisements filled by the place" of refrigerators, planted flowers, signs, food showcases, barbecues and the construction or maintenance of traditional ovens for bread, kleftiko, etc. The eligible costs also include services such as works and studies of decorators and engineers, while eligible costs are also actions for digital upgrading of companies. A relevant guide to the project is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism said that within the first six months, the sponsorship plan for the revival of rural areas, mountainous and border areas is expected to be announced, through the creation of authentic experiences for the enrichment of the tourism product that is also part of the SDS and that by the end of the summer the other two sponsorship plan funded by the SDS and mainly concerning the hotel industry will be announced.
