Aid to the tourism sector: more than a million foreign tourists will spend the night in large cities Business

According to the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, as of January 20. Tourism and catering companies have submitted 1774 applications for grants related to taxes paid to the Lithuanian Business Support Agency. 1,722 applications were evaluated as eligible for support and 1,318 companies have already decided to allocate a total of 4,028 million. euro support.

Accommodation establishments will have 520.5 thousand. 2.67 million euros for catering establishments. euro support. Travel agencies and organizers will receive 407 thousand. Currently, 15 tour operators (6%) are insolvent and 37 tour operators, 17%, will be at high risk of insolvency in the next quarter.

It is promised that if the government approves a new aid tool, individual workers’ compensation, it will be made available to some guides who work in the tourism sector and employees who provide similar services.

“Those affected and self-employed may receive a single subsidy equal to that of 2019. GPM paid, but not less than 200 EUR. The subsidy would appear next to the current 260 euros. The subsidy is focused on those for whom individual activity is the main activity, people must receive the main income through individual activity ”, said V. Jurgutis.

According to the Lithuanian Association of Travel Companies, guides in 2019. paid 2 million. However, last year there were almost no foreign tourists, and local excursions were also restricted, so they could not fully operate.

“It has been 11 months since travel was restricted in one way or another. Guides will receive the same benefits as hairdressers who have not worked for just a few months,” said Ūdrius Armalis, the head of the association, and said in In such a situation, the guides would need additional support.

Žydrė Gavelienė, president of the Lithuanian Chamber of Tourism, stated that not only financial support is needed for the activities of the guides, she suggested allowing the organization of excursions for small groups.

Tourism will be promoted by paying part of the accommodation of foreigners

Accommodation establishments should be provided with measures to encourage inbound tourism from the target markets. This strategy is mainly focused on the main cities.

“Without help, we will see the situation we saw last year: resorts will recover a little more easily and cities that live on conferences will be empty.” The measure is aimed mainly at the five main cities in the country. We want to attract tourists, and when they come to Lithuania, they themselves will choose where to go, ”said V. Jurgutis.

This plan will offer to pay the price of the third night of a foreign citizen. A total of 1.3 million is expected for this plan. they should cover 15 thousand euros. Tourist accommodation. Its profits are measured – 5.2 million. tourist costs.

Evalda Šiškauskienė, president of the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association, said she supported that strategy. “There are such segments: business hotels and resorts. Business hotels are closed as of March.” Local tourism is thriving even without large investments, and in the summer everyone will go to the resorts; we don’t see big problems, “he said.

At the same time, local tourism will be promoted. The budget for this measure is much more modest: 61 thousand. euros. The campaign will be carried out in two stages: in April-May, the trips will be announced by “Travel in Lithuania”, and in May-October, by the municipalities themselves. V. Jurgutis emphasized that this campaign is still in the planning stage and may change.

Audrius Bagdon, representative of the Liberal Movement, did not agree with such a strategy and said that the proportion should be higher. “Last year showed that the tourism sector was based on local tourism. I would suggest allocating more funds for the promotion of local tourism ”, said the parliamentarian.

To this, V. Jurgutis replied that the support package available for local tourism is much more diverse, so that local businesses can now use existing support tools, and if the Government approves new ones, these too.

Representatives of the restaurant sector: will they be more compensated for not working during quarantine?

Member of Parliament Rūta Miliūtė, who participated in the meeting, noted that the catering industry, which was able to work in part during the quarantine, began to worry about the new aid package; according to her, those who did not work at all and lost 60%. they will be able to claim subsidies and those who have worked have lost less and are now formally ineligible, will not be able to benefit from such support.

“Anyone who has fallen 30% can apply for the current measure. Those whose income fell 60% and above will be able to apply for and receive a larger subsidy. To fit in, we need to cut benefits. There is also an opportunity for business assessment individual, “said the deputy minister.

Businesses that were established in 2020 and are not subject to the 2019 criteria will also be eligible for grants. personal income tax paid. There are two ways to apply for a grant in 2020. Taxes are paid or applied separately to cover costs not actually covered, such as rents. “The second measure is more individual, it is administered separately, it requires audits. This is a more difficult path, “said V. Jurgutis.

Vice Minister: The crisis is an opportunity to return tourism records to the present

The deputy minister also stressed that many tourist facilities will not be able to obtain funding from the European Economic Recovery and Resilience (RFF). These funds are more for the fundamental transformation of the tourism sector.

“No matter how you want to finish the bike lanes or the squares, it is not possible according to the RRF fund. It is dedicated to the transformation of the economy, including data accounting. It must be recognized that tourism accounting in Lithuania is at the level of the 1980s. We have to receive data in real time: what people are arriving, where they are taking them, where they are moving, ”shared V. Jurgutis the vision.