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Two more aid packages aimed at supporting the tourism sector, grape suppliers, wine and brandy companies hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic were approved by the Armenian government on Thursday, Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan told a news conference on Friday.

According to the minister, the 23rd support program will focus on the public catering sector, hotels, resorts, as well as travel agencies.

The key purpose of the program is to help companies operating in the tourism sector to keep their staffs, Khachatryan said.

Companies registered before 31 March 2020 and having at least three employees are entitled to receive the government aid, he noted.

“There are several rules for the support program. We intend to encourage the companies that managed to retain more than 70% of their staffs. These companies will receive subsidies in the amount of the salary of every third employee, which equals to 33% of the payroll," the minister said. “However, the companies that failed to retain 70% of their staff will also receive assistance, but in this case the salaries of every fourth employee will be subsidized, or 25% of the payroll will be paid. This is a very good signal for businesses to expand their staffs.”

Khachatryan said that the program is initially set to cover a period of nine months based on the forecasts that the Armenian tourism sector will be able to recover only by next spring. The the main condition for the duration of the program is the maintenance of existing indicators, he said, adding if the companies start to bounce back faster and reach 70% of the previous turnover, the program will be terminated.

The support will be denied to those businesses which fail to properly pay their taxes.

The potential beneficiaries of the program have more than 23,000 employees, thus it will affect some 5,000-6,000 employees. “The amount of the monthly reimbursement may reach 600-700 million drams," Khachatryan stressed.