The Ministry of National Economy and Finance published the announcement for the Action “Strengthening the Establishment and Operation of New Tourism SMEs”; the action concerns support for entrepreneurship in the tourism sector through the establishment of new micro-, small and medium enterprises with selected activity code numbers (ACN), encouraging entrepreneurship for enterprises that strengthen the capabilities of Greece’ tourism industry and provide reliable, high-quality services that will contribute to the enrichment of Greece’s tourism product and generate new jobs.

The budget for the Action amounts to €160,000,000 

The Action is co-funded by the EU European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and with the participation of the Hellenic Republic.

 Each investment plan may receive from €80,000 up to €400,000 in funding.

The percentage of the funding is equal for all applications for funding and amounts to 45% of the funded budget.

The subsidy rate may increase by:

• 10% if the investment is made in a remote or fire-prone or earthquake-prone or flood-prone area or small islands (as per Annex X) and/or
• an additional 5% with the declaration when submitting the funding application of the targeted employment of at least 0.2 EME in the first year following the completion of the investment

Beneficiaries of the Action:

Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises that are in the process of being established or are newly-established will be or are active in the Tourism industry.

Category A. In the process of being established. Enterprises that will be established after the issue date of the Action’s call until the first disbursement of the subsidy and will be exclusively active in eligible ACNs throughout the implementation of the investment plan and until the investment is repaid, in accordance with ANNEX II ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES (ACN).

Category B. Newly Established. The term ‘newly established’ signifies enterprises that have not exceeded a 12-month period of continuous operation (the date of registration with the IAPR must be within the previous 12-month period from the date of announcement of the Action). It should be noted that they should be exclusively active in the eligible ACNs of the Action, which are included in Annex II ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES (ACN), during the submission of the funding application, throughout the implementation of the investment plan and until the repayment of the investment.

It is clarified that the enterprises must have the investment ACN prior to the first disbursement.

It is noted that investment plans with the investment ACN “Accommodations” (ACN 55) of the tourism sector must fulfil the following conditions:

MAIN HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

Hotels

• • Ranked 4**** (four star) and above
  • Capacity of twelve (12) beds or more

Tourist hotel accommodations within traditional settlements as per P.D. 33/1979

Organised tourist camping sites

NON-MAIN HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

Self-service accommodation – furnished tourist accommodations

• • Minimum number of residences: three (3)

Please note: The total self-service accommodations – furnished tourist accommodations must belong to the same Electronic Register of Tourism Enterprises Mark.

Furnished rooms – apartments for rent

• • Ranking of 4 or more keys
  • Minimum capacity of twelve (12) beds

Online Submission Start Date: Monday, 18/12/2023 at 15:00
Online submission end date: Thursday, 29/02/2024 at 15:00

The funding application must be submitted online via the Integrated State Aid Management Information System (iSAMIS)

Applications for funding submitted to the iSAMIS with unfilled mandatory fields will not be accepted.

The applications for funding will be evaluated through benchmarking.

Contact – Information

Public Information Office: 8 Dragatsaniou Street, Klafthmonos Square, Athens.
Operating hours Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:00
By phone: on 801 11 36 300 from landlines with a local charge from 09:00 to 16:30
Εmail: infoepan@mou.gr
Websites: www.antagonistikotita.gr  www.espa.gr
Information points for EFEPAE (Intermediary Body of Operational Programmes for Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship) & their regions units: www.efepae.gr

Press Release from the Ministry of National Economy and Finance