Most of the EU Member States are benefited by the tourism sector and hospitality industries as key factors for their economies. As a result, after the pandemic, they are seeing a massive economic drop rate that is certainly not easy to fix.
For some regions, this problem will be even more massive. Apart from European tourists that visit the various Member States, the outside influx is suspected to drop as low as 40% at least for the summer of 2020.
Alternative Strategies
As a result, many governments appear to be changing their current economic strategies. Unfortunately, a lot of small businesses and local stores will be forced to shut down. If we consider the economic sectors of a country as a domino, changes like that will eventually affect the entire European economy.
The EU appears to be ready to deal with the problem at hand. Predicting the situation and covering the entire sector is not possible all in one go. However, steps are being taken and the EU seems prepared to allocate large sums of money to assist the sector in every possible way.
One solution given by the EU is the patronage vouchers. Patronage vouchers allow consumers to show support for their favorite hotels or restaurants by paying today for a future stay or meal. The amount paid by the customer goes directly to the service provider, which is important from the cash flow perspective.
Supporting the EU Member States
The voucher has already been set up in EU member states and citizens appear to be responding very positively to it. The commission has vouched to that they will work harder with local tourism organizations and market players in all Member States in an effort to enhance these actions and their impact.
However, the vouchers are only a small part of the help the EU is planning on giving member states. We could say that one of the most important steps that will be taken is the EU budget that will be allocated for calls concerning the tourism sector.
EU Calls to Support Tourism
The interest is already growing larger and larger. SMEs closely connected to the tourism sector want to take part in projects that will allow them to increase their current economic state on the way or another. From learning how to perfectly protect tourists from Covid-19 all the to providing them with safe experiences and perhaps even use more sources to increase their revenue, the current open calls are attracting a lot of attention.
Here are some of the most popular open calls on the tourism sector:
Call: Med microfinance support system for start-ups (Third Parties Call)
Programme: ENI CBC MED 2014-2020
Description: The general objective of this call for proposals is to identify and select 25 aspiring entrepreneurs with an innovative entrepreneurial idea to be perfected and developed, thanks to the support of the MEDSt@rts project.
The aspiring entrepreneurs selected will be involved, according to the steps and methods described in article 3, in an entrepreneurial path of training and accompaniment, with the final goal of obtaining financial support for the business idea.
Budget: 10.000 euros
Call: Path to Post-COVID Recovery
Description: While the coronavirus continues to spread relentlessly to all parts of the world, businesses are analysing ways to prepare their responses to the post-COVID situation and increase their resilience. Not all sectors have been equally affected. Service sectors, including transport, travel, and tourism, have been hit the hardest as they have lost significant demand.
Given the complexity of the pandemic, the recovery phase will require high levels of orchestration and coordination. However, the actions that the companies will take during this recovery period need also to set the foundation for a more sustained growth and performance.
Budget: 150.000 euros
You can learn more about the calls connect to the tourism section through EUcalls. Stay tuned and sign up for more news every day and the opportunity to become an active EU partner.
