EU approves €55m Tourism Support

The EU has approved the Government’s €55m pandemic aid scheme for the tourism sector.  But industry bodies say the money is nowhere near enough to help beleaguered tour operators, who rely largely on international visitors to survive.

​The Tourism Business Continuity Scheme was launched last month, providing grants of between €3,750 and €200,000 to operators that don’t qualify for existing Covid-19 aid.

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Applications from outdoor activity providers such as golf courses, bus and boat tour operators and campsites closed on Monday lunchtime.

Fáilte Ireland intends to open the scheme to further operators later this month.  The European Commission said on Monday that the scheme was “necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy”.

 But Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation  wants the scheme to be doubled to €110m to help replace some of an estimated €7bn in lost earnings over the last year.

“As valuable as the funding has been, it’s wholly inadequate to meet the needs of the industry,” he said.
“Everyone acknowledges, including Government, that the tourism and hospitality industry has been disproportionately hit by the pandemic.

"So the Government needs to step up and increase support for the sector.”  He said the Government should also expand its flagship Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) and extend a lower Vat rate of 9pc beyond December, to 2025.

​REF: Hospitalitynews.ie