Covid-19, which has affected many sectors globally, is causing significant damage to the working world economy. We asked questions about this process to Burçin Döveç, manager of Döveç Group, one of the companies that contributes greatly to the economy of Northern Cyprus.

When it was learned that the coronavirus was spreading globally, you were one of the first companies to take precautions on the island. Due to the sector you operate in, people from all nationalities enter your office building, and you take their temperature at the door and ensure that social isolation is observed. So, what do you think about the management of the fight against Covid-19 throughout the TRNC throughout this process?

Yes, we took our own precautions first. Afterwards, Northern Cyprus has once again shown that it is one of the most reliable countries in the world in this process. I think that comprehensive measures against coronavirus were taken by the state in a timely manner in Northern Cyprus. We can say that case tracking was done very well and measures to increase social isolation were implemented as soon as possible. We congratulate our state for this great success. In this process, one of the most important factors was that the people of TRNC acted consciously and complied with the measures. As a matter of fact, as a country, we fought together and passed the first stage successfully, but from now on, we will continue our lives in health by continuing our precautions and will not let go of our precautions.

How did this process affect your work? Could you evaluate it from the perspective of the Construction Industry?

In this process, we closed our offices and construction sites from March 13 to May 4 to protect the health of our employees and customers in line with the precautionary decisions announced by the state. Since a large part of the customer portfolio in the construction sector consists of foreign nationals, commercial activities in the sector stopped with the closure of border gates. As Döveç Group, we continued to work from home using the technological infrastructure we have. All our units outside the construction site continued their duties online. All interviews and promotional activities were held using online communication channels. Project promotions were made with virtual tour videos, animations and 360 footage. Customer demands and coordination were carried out on a mobile basis. Both the Covid-19 success in TRNC and the projects were explained in webinars organized for our portfolio in target markets. A cloud-based collaborative working environment was created by making our virtual servers accessible remotely to our employees. Sales, marketing, accounting and customer relations units continued to work without a break.

We said that the situation is under control in our country and that we will continue our measures from now on. So, what kind of change do you foresee with this normalization process?

I can say that there will be serious changes in people's lifestyles and preferences after Covid-19. Especially changes regarding hygiene and social isolation will attract attention. If we evaluate it in terms of our own sector, projects with high social isolation and designed with horizontal architecture, that is, projects with low density of people, will be more preferred. We can already feel the effects of this situation with the intense demand for our projects dominated by horizontal architecture, such as Four Seasons Life, Courtyard Long Beach, Four Seasons Salamis. Of course, the hygiene measures to be taken in public housing will be at the highest level. In addition, people will prefer quiet and reliable locations such as Northern Cyprus, rather than crowded countries with intensive public transportation.

This is actually a very important issue. Can we say that your expectations for the construction industry after Covid-19 are positive?

The Covid-19 process has once again shown how reliable a country Northern Cyprus is. So much so that statistics reveal that TRNC is the 4th most reliable country in the world. If we, as a country, can show this situation to the world and make effective promotions, Northern Cyprus can become a center of attraction after Covid-19. For this reason, I think that after the normalization process, interest in Northern Cyprus will increase and this will have a very positive impact on the construction sector.

This epidemic has had economic effects that almost dwarf the health problem it caused all over the world. How can this wound be closed? The opinions and suggestions, if any, of business people like you will be guiding.

From now on, a fight at least as difficult as Covid-19 awaits us. We need to fight together to revive the economy that has hit rock bottom in Northern Cyprus. Necessary incentives and legal regulations should be made to keep Construction, Tourism and Education, which are the leading sectors of the country, afloat. Innovations that will make Northern Cyprus attractive for foreigners and make it a reason for preference should be implemented. Northern Cyprus' Covid-19 success should be systematically promoted in all target countries. Strong promotion of Northern Cyprus can make our country a center of attraction in terms of tourism, investment and education. Now it is up to us to take care of the TRNC and to promote the Covid-19 success all over the world and to position our name at a good point in this process with the right advertisements.

So how should this process be carried out, what procedure can be applied for people coming from foreign countries where the epidemic is still ongoing?

First of all, we should not expect everything from the state in this process. Private sector representatives, sector unions and commissions formed by relevant ministries should act together. A promotion policy for the country should be determined with the participation and contribution of all stakeholders and action should be taken quickly. In the later stages of the normalization process, with the support of health authorities, PCR tests may be requested from tourists and investors coming to the country, PCR tests may be applied at airports, or health measures may be implemented by providing conditions to be determined by the authorities, such as obtaining a health certificate at standards to be determined from the country of destination. Due to the dependence of our locomotive sectors on foreign sources, it is essential that the steps to be taken in this revitalization process are implemented immediately.