BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 12
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
The National Bank of Georgia called on commercial banks to restructure loans to the tourism sector, Trend reported on Thursday with reference to Georgian media.
Against the backdrop of an outbreak of coronavirus in the world, the tourism sector of Georgia faces serious challenges. Already in February, the number of international visits fell by 0.7 percent compared to the same period last year. Experts expect that this situation will continue in March, especially against the background of the growing number of coronavirus cases in Georgia.
Meanwhile, coronavirus also had a negative impact on financial stability in Georgia, mainly on the national currency of the country.
According to the Head of the National Bank of Georgia Koba Gvenetadze, in the face of such challenges, it is important to take the right steps. He added that commercial banks are interested in financial stability.
"Financial stability helps us deal with such shocks. The situation should be analyzed, and, based on this, commercial banks will make a decision on how to help the tourism sector," Gvenetadze said.
According to official figures, the tourism sector of Georgia in February this year suffered losses of 30 million lari ($10.5 million) due to the decrease in the number of visits by foreigners.
Against the backdrop of the outbreak of the coronavirus, as well as the oil crisis in the world, the national currency of Georgia began to fall rapidly.
The National Bank of Georgia established the exchange rate at a rate of 1 USD - 2.87 lari on March 12. Compared with the previous value, the Georgian national currency depreciated against the dollar by 0.032 lari. Compared with the value on March 10, the lari fell by almost 3 percent.
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