From the beginning of the pandemic until today, more than 500 travel agencies have been shut down, while more than 350 agencies have been placed in the so-called sleep mode. The percentage of laid off workers in travel agencies has already exceeded 72 percent, the TAS Initiative stated.
As they state, the largest number of the total of 850 destroyed travel agencies are intermediaries in the sale of tourist arrangements, but there are also organizers of tourist trips in this number.
“We have to repeat, for who knows how many times, that the state’s assistance to the tourism sector, especially the sector of travel agencies, was lacking,” they believe from this Initiative.
The TAS Initiative believes that the announcement of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications that the tourism sector was helped with 76 million euros is “incredible”.
“What was collected in the alleged aid, we presented as follows: Two sectoral aid to the hotel industry – a total of about 21 million euros. Development Fund – approved loans, according to the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, is a total of about 9 million euros, and according to the sources of the Development Fund, that amount is exactly 3.1 million euros. Such an imbalance is unbelievable,” the TAS estimated.
As for subsidies for the purchase of policies for travel agencies, the organizers, TAS states that only 90 travel agencies in the total amount of one million euros were entitled to these subsidies. The total amount of the paid minimum for the tourism sector, according to the relevant ministry, is 705.6 million euros, according to the Initiative.
When everything is added up, the TAS Initiative states that the total aid amounted to 30 million euros, so it raises the question “where did 46 million euros disappear from this calculation”.
During 2020, travel agencies had a drop in traffic of over 90 percent, and during 2021, losses are accumulating “regardless of the opening of borders and the so-called normalization of travel.” They also state that the number of passengers traveling has been reduced by over 70 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
“Certainly, such a small number of passengers cannot cover the huge losses incurred during 2020, and certainly cannot cover the operating costs during 2021. Such a situation will certainly affect the declaration of bankruptcy of many travel agencies, which is expected from mid-September 2021,” the statement said.
Commenting on subsidies to travel agencies for bringing foreign tourists to the country, the Initiative states that the amount of the approved subsidy is 42,500 euros.
“How can you improve anything for the stated amount? Even if only one travel agency receives the entire amount of the subsidy, there will be no effect on the overall growth of visits by foreign tourists. It is absolutely unbelievable,” the TAS estimates, Nova Ekonomija reports.
The TAS initiative states that there is a Decree of the Government of Serbia which refers to the redistribution of state aid for the most endangered sectors of the economy, “which has not been implemented and none of the local self-governments is aware of its existence.”
“The regulation was created due to the EU and its intentions and was not to be implemented or presented to the public. When we addressed the Government and local self-governments with a request to cover 80 percent of fixed costs, as the Regulation foresaw, we received silence or rejection. a small number of municipalities responded and helped their vulnerable activities, “the statement said.
The Initiative said that the consequences would be great, and that there would be no solution, “because despite the warnings to the competent institutions for the past 16 months, there is no reaction.”
