Dorita Yiannakou
A total of 15,000 hotel employees are expected to benefit from the Special Employment Support Scheme for the hotel sector approved by the government and implemented through the Ministry of Labour.
According to information obtained by “K”, hotel owners submitted 207 applications. Each application represents one legal entity, meaning the employer, which may manage more than one hotel unit within the same group.
According to the same sources, the €6 million approved by the Finance Ministry for the April phase of the support scheme will be distributed to 15,000 eligible hotel workers.
The funds will be paid to hotel employees, as employees have already received their April salaries.
The scheme provides for a subsidy covering 30% of the monthly salary for up to 80% of a company’s workforce, with a maximum amount of €1,324 per employee.
Eligible businesses are those that recorded, or are expected to record, a drop in turnover of more than 40% in April 2026 compared with April 2025 or occupancy rates below 60%.
Meanwhile, hotel operators are waiting for government decisions on whether the support scheme will be extended to May and June, saying this would allow businesses to move ahead with hiring and operate with greater certainty.
At the same time, the sector is calling for stronger promotion of Cyprus abroad and additional financial support, including at the European level.
Other tourism-related sectors affected by the war in Iran, including the restaurant industry, are also seeking state support.
For its part, the government has made clear that no commitment has yet been made either to extend the hotel support scheme or to provide assistance to other tourism-linked sectors.
Officials say the government is adopting a wait-and-see approach until there is a clearer picture of how long the situation will last and how it will develop.
In a recent press conference, the minister responsible left open the possibility of revisiting the issue at a later stage depending on developments.
