Cyprus` international image was damaged by the situation of its banking sector at the peak of the crisis two years ago, an analysis of the Open University of Cyprus and the Advanced Media Institute reveals.
A systematic analysis of 1.716 stories of four world class media organisations, namely the BBC, CNN, FOX and Al Jazeera, for a period of two years, has shown that the island`s once powerful banking sector turned into a negative factor for its international image in March 2013, when the crisis peaked.
The results of the survey showed that from the peak of the crisis to date the banking sector seems to be trapped in a very negative context, rendering it very difficult to repair its image.
Meanwhile, Cyprus` global stature has improved mainly because it has been decoupled from that of the banking sector and is now linked to other sectors such as tourism, culture and sports, Sofia Iordanidou Professor at the Open University of Cyprus and head of the Advanced Media Institute, tells the Cyprus News Agency. She adds, however, that this is a fragile image.
Iordanidou explains that there is a “domino effect”. When the image of the banking sector is de-constructed there is an impact on the image of the country and its economy in turn, she says, noting that the banks must regain their value and become a source of power, as they used to be, for Cyprus.
“The banks are obliged to manage the crisis but also to make provisions for possible crises in the future. The international image of a country is a major economic value. Α positive or negative image has enormous economic consequences”.
The results of the analysis will be presented Thursday, May 14, at a conference sponsored by the CNA.