Page 44 - GEORptApr20
P. 44
pursue required measures to fight the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
"Flights will be [almost] completely halted from today. Only Georgian Airlines will operate certain flights in coordination with the government," Prime Minister's Advisor Irakli Chikovani said on March 21.
9.1.4 Tourism sector news
Small countries in Balkans and South Caucasus most exposed to tourism industry collapse
Small countries in the Balkans and South Caucasus are the most exposed to the expected collapse in tourism revenues this year as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic puts a stop to international and domestic travel.
In several of the countries in these sub-regions tourism accounts for some of the largest shares of GDP across the wider Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe and Eurasia area, based on a global survey by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) published in 2018.
Tourism — taking into account both direct and indirect effects — accounted for 31% of GDP in Georgia, and around a quarter in Albania (26.2%), Croatia (25%) and Montenegro (23.7%).
Looking only at the direct contribution of the tourism sector to GDP, the largest share is in Montenegro (11%), followed by Croatia (10.9) and Georgia (9.3%). In countries where tourism makes up a large share of GDP, governments have sought to target the industry specifically as they draw up economic stimulus plans to try to mitigate the fallout from the pandemic.
In Croatia, for example, the stimulus package worth around €4bn approved earlier this month includes measures to support companies in the tourism industry as well as those aimed at the economy as a whole. Under Georgia’s stimulus package all enterprises linked to the tourism sector will be granted income and property tax breaks until November 1, while a refund of value-added tax (VAT) for companies would be doubled to GEL1.2bn ($347mn) from GEL600mn. Individuals and tourism-related companies could be permitted to defer interest payments on bank loans for four months.
44 GEORGIA Country Report April 2020 www.intellinews.com
