The Board of Directors of Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry reviewed on Tuesday the course of the Cyprus economy and examined its prospects in the next few months.

According to the announcement, the sectors of tourism and summer houses have dropped significantly, especially in the seaside areas of Paphos and free Famagusta. “The measures for the support of the hotel and construction industry must be completed the soonest possible and the promotion of other measures of non fiscal character will contribute to tackle the crisis”, it reported.

The CCCI found out that the impacts on manufacturing have become visible. “The need to take short term and middle term measures is acute so as to reverse the shrinkage of the sector and the loss of job posts”, it added.

“The offering of governmental guarantees for the adoption of big development projects (e.g marinas) is a one-way street. These guarantees must concern development and not housing development, the business risk of which remains to the individual investor”, it stressed.

The CCCI emphasized the need for the introduction of a security organization for the support of the SMEs via the offering of more favourable terms.

Finally, it expressed its concerns on the special treatment of the big developments. In case of allocating urban planning incentives, the CCCI believes that this must be offered to both Cypriots and non-Cypriots investors, within the framework of an equal treatment regime. “The CCCI welcomes the foreign investors’ interest in Cyprus. However, it believes that the Cypriot businessmen must be offered equal opportunities to the benefit of our country” it concluded.