Prospects for Cyprus tourism positive

Prospects for the tourist sector for 2014 are positive, Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Giorgos Lakkotrypis has said.

In his address Friday at the opening of the 38^th Cyprus International State Fair in Nicosia, the Minister said that tourism contributes the most to Cyprus’ GDP and will continue to do so.

“Prospects for 2014 and the coming years are particularly positive”, he said.

The Minister also referred to the field of energy, noting that this sector is expected to play a very decisive role in Cyprus’ plans for economic growth.

The Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, “being one of the most productive ministries in the country has an important role to play in the joint effort to restart the economy and restore our state’s credibility”, he pointed out.

Referring to the Cyprus International State Fair, which opened its gates on Friday, Lakkotrypis recalled that it had contributed to a great extent in the efforts to restart the economy, following the negative consequences after the Turkish invasion in 1974.

“The state fair is called upon to reaffirm once more its important role”, he concluded.

Excluded from international capital markets since April 2011, Cyprus applied for financial assistance from the EU bailout mechanism, as its two largest banks, Bank of Cyprus (BoCY) and Cyprus Popular Bank (CPB) requested state support following mammoth losses as a result of the Greek sovereign debt haircut.

In late March, the authorities and the Troika (EC, ECB, IMF) agreed on a €10 billion financial assistance package which featured an unprecedented haircut on uninsured deposits to recapitalize BoCY, whereas CPB was wound down.