NICOSIA, April 15 (Xinhua) — Cypriot cabinet approved on Wednesday a plan for an exit from the current coronavirus crisis, which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said would impact the economy by 6.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides said.
According to the minister, the plan with three stages provides for the gradual lifting of restrictions and the reopening of vital businesses from early May, provided the epidemiological data allow it.
The first stage concerns the restrictions and the plan to shore up the economy, to the tune of 5.6 percent of GDP, which the government has already rolled out to a large extent.
The second includes opening businesses early in May in vital sectors of the economy.
The third stage concerns restarting the economy, expected to take place between September 2020 and December 2021.
A ministerial committee chaired by the finance minister will be preparing the strategy and an action plan by the end of this month.
The IMF said that Cyprus’ economy could spring back by 5.4 percent in 2021.
In a separate statement, deputy minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios said his department has drawn up a flexible emergency action plan for the year 2020.
Travel and Tourism is the steam engine of the Cypriot economy, contributing around 21 percent to GDP.
Perdios said that before the end of this month his ministry would restart communications with airlines and travel agencies, and at the same time cultural institutions will receive financial aid, with the aim of raising domestic tourism’s share in the entire Travel and Tourism sector from the usual level of 7 percent up to 30 percent.
He said the first tourists could come in July, but Cyprus could expect around 1.5 million people this year, which is only 60 percent of almost 4 million people who visited the island in 2019.
A full recovery of tourism would only be achieved in the next two or three years, according to Perdios. Enditem
