Subsidy programmes offered by the labour ministry are expected to allow around 9,500 people to organise summer holidays this year, with the ministry offering subsidies for both low-income pensioners and workers.

Labour ministry officer Michalis Loizou told the Cyprus News Agency that over 7,500 applications have been filed by low-income pensioners for summer holiday subsidies, with the number of applications this year exceeding the budget allocated for the programme by the government.

In total, he said, €1.165 million was allocated to the programme this year, with 6,400 people therefore receiving subsidies to be able to go on summer holidays. He added that beneficiaries of the subsidy were “fully satisfied, as they get to escape from everyday life”.

He said that 18 hotels are participating in the programme this year, with beneficiaries offered a total of €57.50 per person per night in subsidies. That allocation covers accommodation and full board for stays of up to three nights in the months of June, July, and September.

Given that the participating hotels are located in the Troodos mountains and in and around the Tillyria region in the island’s northwest, he said that they frequently “rely to a large extent” on the government programme.

However, he said, consultations have been held in recent months as, on account of rising costs, “they would like to see an increase in the amount” payable to them, and as such, the nightly subsidy increased this year from €55 to €57.50.

This increase, however, did not go hand in hand with an increase in the programme’s overall budget, meaning that fewer low-income pensioners benefited from subsidies summer holidays this year.

Meanwhile, fellow labour ministry officer Andreas Sophocleous told CNA about the subsidy programme for workers, explaining that its own overall budget was increased from €918,000 last year to €936,000 this year.

He explained that thus far this year, 2,111 applications have been submitted, but said that given that the programme’s applications are still open, it is not yet clear how many applications will be approved.

Last year, he said, 2,133 applications were submitted, of which 1,658 were approved. Of those applications, 532 people eventually declined to use the programme, meaning that 1,126 applications were funded, and exactly 3,092 people partook in subsidised summer holidays under the programme.

The programme for workers, he said, has 17 participating hotels, all of which are also located in the Troodos mountains and the Tillyria region, which he said are “areas with sustainability problems”.

He went on to say that most beneficiaries “declare themselves satisfied with the accommodation and food offered” at the hotels.

“The programme has existed since 1972 and contributes to the utilisation of workers’ holidays and the survival of mountain resorts and Pyrgos Tillyria,” he said, adding that the programme has been run every summer except for 1974, 1975, and 1976.

He said that the subsidy for workers amounts to €55 per person per night for stays of up to five nights, and that in cases in which hotels’ retail prices exceed €55 per night, workers cover the difference.