The state set aside 10 million euros as direct aid for city hotels in order to maintain their business and preserve employment in that sector, and most of those funds were redirected from 400,000 vouchers that will not be distributed due to lack of interest, the Minister of Tourism, Trade and Telecommunications, Rasim Ljajic, said today.
The Minister stated that the rest of the funds for that sector assistance will be allocated from the current budget reserve, reports Tanjug.
Ljajic, as a guest on TV Pink, pointed out that the condition for receiving 350 euros per bed and 150 euros per room is that hoteliers do not release more than 10 percent of wounds by the end of the year.
He explained that this practically means that if the hotelier reports that he has 10 single rooms, he will receive 500 euros per room, ie a total of 5,000 euros in non-refundable aid.
280 hotels in 27 cities in Serbia have the right to help, said Ljajic and added that the Ministry of Tourism will publish a public call in ten days, which will more clearly define the criteria for receiving help.
City hoteliers can expect that money, says Ljajic, at the end of September, and at the beginning of October at the latest.
Since, thanks to domestic tourism in mountainous and spa places and villages, losses have been reduced, and caterers in those places will be able to “survive”, on the other hand, city hotels depend on foreign tourists and therefore needed state help, the Minister said.
“I believe that this support from the state will help them keep their heads above water in this difficult period and keep employment in the hotel sector. It is certain that there will be criticism why only hotels in big cities, but there is no best decision and a decision that has no flaws,” said Ljajic.
Regardless of the large number of domestic tourists in spa and mountain centers, the final outcome in tourism will not be positive due to the lack of foreign guests, Ljajic points out.
“The only positive thing in this sea of bad news when we talk about tourism is the expansion of less visible tourist destinations in the country, and I hope that this model of tourism development will continue after the pandemic,” said Ljajic.
Speaking about the winter season, the minister says that it is still uncertain due to the epidemiological situation, but it is expected that it will be implemented and that it will have an enviable number of guests in order to reduce losses in tourism, Politika reports.
