AKEL General Secretary Andros Kyprianou suggests the creation of a Permanent Crisis Management Mechanism for Tourism, adding that this year, due to the pandemic of the corona, there will be no profits from tourism.
In a greeting at a conference on "Tourism - the new challenges after the pandemic" organized by the AKEL Famagusta District Organization in Ayia Napa, Mr. Kyprianou said that in the area of free Famagusta the consequences of the coronation "are much more heavy because the economy relied solely on tourism. Those who make the decisions should know that in areas such as free Famagusta there is no life without tourism, since the reduction of tourism not only affects the tourism industry, but almost everyone, while for three months now the people of the region are counting expenses, without counting income ".
He added that AKEL studied the situation and formulated specific proposals which it sent to the President of the Republic and the Deputy Minister of Tourism, while he prepared his suggestions "taking into account that it is objectively impossible due to the situation in the countries - traditional markets, to expect a lot of foam. for the summer season from abroad ".
He added that the aim of AKEL's presentations was to redesign Cyprus's tourism policy in the development of domestic tourism, in order to survive and operate as many tourism businesses as possible, to preserve jobs, but also their readiness to host tourists. "We must all make a decision that for this year there will be no profits in the tourism industry," he said.
Referring to the proposals given by the party to the government and the competent bodies, Andros Kyprianou said that there is a suggestion for "the elaboration of an emergency plan for dealing with the crisis with the main axes of safety and health." Cyprus must be prepared to meet the new, high requirements for hygiene conditions by strengthening public health infrastructure for citizens and visitors, issuing a certificate on COVID-19 upon entering and leaving the country, the elaboration of a holistic sanitary and functional approach by establishing rules / standards not only for tourist sites but also services related to tourism (airports, transport, museums, shopping malls, sports facilities, Municipal / Public services , common areas where people are crowded) ».
The state continued, "We need to motivate those who are going to make these adjustments to their buildings, processes, equipment and staff to keep up with the new needs and standards for hygiene." It is also necessary to coordinate the provision of European funds through structural and / or other funds for granting tourist units ".
Cyprus, Mr. Kyprianou added, should be prepared for "a different, aggressive advertising campaign at the right time, which will focus on the health and safety of visitors to our place, promoting it as a safe health destination in its major news networks. abroad ".
Another suggestion of AKEL is the "need to extend the tourist season aiming at the Autumn months and the months of Winter and Spring of 2021 for obvious reasons. At this juncture, we need to focus and invest in specific actions and areas such as incentives for the development of specialized and alternative tourism and incentives for the development of rural tourism. "
He added that the set of policies and actions that need to be implemented during this period "must be accompanied by certain parallel actions such as simplifying - speeding up the process of issuing visas to third country visitors and creating a Permanent Crisis Management Mechanism for Tourism".
In his speech, the Secretary General of AKEL also referred to the strengthening of domestic tourism, saying that "proper and timely planning needs to be done and generous and targeted incentives should be given by the state. "A necessary condition is the strengthening of the purchasing power of households and the reduction of the prices of accommodation packages and services provided in order to be accessible to the majority of the world", he said and noted that "incentives need to be given for social tourism".
Andros Kyprianou also referred to the way in which social tourism was implemented "under the government of Christofias and we estimate that in the same logic it is more appropriate to operate today" since as he said "it will pay off because it is based on the logic of granting the same beneficiary with one amount whenever and wherever he uses it ".
He added that "our proposal is to promote today with rounded sums upwards, ie 50-50-30-40 euros for each member of the beneficiary's family and with the inclusion of other beneficiaries besides retirees, the disabled. and EU beneficiaries, such as recipients of unemployment benefits or special unemployment benefits, single-parent families, students and low-wage workers.
It is understandable, he continued, "that this is a large expenditure on the part of the state but will be offset by the benefits of not closing the majority of hotels and the need for state support directly, not dismissing the mass of hotel employees who will need unemployment benefits." otherwise, while at the same time the economy will be breathed through the increase in consumption ".
AKEL's secretary general assured that his party's doors are always open to discuss issues of concern to those working in the tourism sector, with the aim of "working to help build constructively address the problems that have arisen in the tourism sector."
Source: KYPE