25.08.2022
Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios said on Wednesday that two main schemes are being prepared to improve the tourism product of Cyprus.
These include the improvement and modernization of services with a special focus on the health and wellness sector, including the establishment of centers in rural areas.
The budget for the new schemes will be 20 million euros, and this amount will be taken from the recovery and resilience plan of Cyprus.
Hotels that are currently closed will also fall under the scheme.
“Essentially, we are talking about a qualitative improvement in the services provided by existing units, with clear goals such as their digital transition, their energy transition and upgrading or adding health, wellness and care services,” Perdios told local publication Stockwatch. .
The minister explained that through this particular scheme, hotel owners will be able to upgrade their booking system, modernize their restaurants and bars, upgrade their rooms and create wellness areas.
“This is a recognition that we, Cyprus, are underdeveloped in the field of health and wellness tourism, which is an important part of special forms of tourism,” said Perdios.
“All this will help the hospitality industry to attract a highly profitable segment of the market, which is still extremely underutilized,” he added.
The Borrower Protection Association (Siprodat) this week expressed relief over the recent approval by President Anastasiadis of a bill that would delay the foreclosure of mortgaged property until October 31, 2022.
According to the law, this also affects pending foreclosures, as well as the process of bidding by other parties to acquire the property in question, meaning that the process will need to be restarted from the beginning after the expiration of the aforementioned period.
In addition, the legislation affects companies or funds involved in the acquisition of loans, as well as individuals involved in the acquisition of such property.
The association also urged credit management agencies to proceed with restructuring where applicable, as they are required to do so in accordance with the relevant directive of the Central Bank.
“This is the only way to reduce non-performing loans (NPL),” the association said.
“Foreclosure will not solve the NPL problem,” he added.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Wednesday, August 24, with losses.
The overall Cypriot stock market index stood at 73.83 points at 13:04 during the day, reflecting a 0.18% drop from the previous trading day.
The FTSE/CySE 20 Index stood at 43.90, down 0.3%.
The total transaction value was 98,983 euros.
As for the sub-indices, the main, alternative and investment indexes of companies decreased by 0.06%, 0.53% and 0.49% respectively, while the hotel index remained stable.
Bank of Cyprus (+0.39%), Vassiliko Cement Works (no change), Logicom (+1.14%), Hellenic Bank (-0.86%) and Petrolina Holdings (-0.9%) attracted the most investment interest ).
