Gov’t, banks team up to support Georgian tourism sector amid coronavirus negative impact

PM Giorgi Gakharia and the chief executive officers of commercial banks signed an agreement, which will come up with an action plan to support the tourism sector in the coming days. Photo: Gov't of Georgia.

Agenda.ge, 11 Mar 2020 - 11:56, Tbilisi,Georgia

The government of Georgia, the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) and commercial banks are teaming up to mitigate the negative impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on the tourism sector of the country.

Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia and the chief executive officers of commercial banks signed an agreement earlier today, which will come up with an action plan to support the tourism sector in the coming days, announced the government of Georgia.

At the meeting the banking sector made its readiness clear to provide maximum support in various forms if and when the tourism sector representatives encounter certain problems in servicing their loans as a result of COVID-19.

Participants of the meeting have agreed that “the most pressing task” today is to keep as much cash resources in the vulnerable sectors as possible to avoid obstacles in the implementation of current projects.

Apart from the impact on the tourism sector, it was noted that COVID-19 may directly affect the financial and banking sector itself, though it was also noted that the banking sector of the country is currently in a position to minimise such negative externalities.