The project “EU for You – for cultural heritage and tourism” awarded one million euros today for 120 projects in the field of tourism in cities in eastern and southeastern Serbia, in order to mitigate the consequences of the crisis caused by the corona virus pandemic.
The winners of the grant are micro and small enterprises, family businesses, agricultural farms and companies from 12 cities and municipalities in eastern and southeastern Serbia.
The largest number of future beneficiaries of this assistance, up to 10,000 euros per project, provides private accommodation for tourists (52 entrepreneurs), and camps, restaurants and providers of various catering services, boarding houses, hotels and hostels, travel agencies, wineries are also supported and beekeepers.
At the online award ceremony, the head of the EU delegation in Serbia, Sam Fabrizi, said that tourism is a great economic potential for Serbia, considering that our country, he says, has many natural beauties that should be promoted.
“There must be a better tourist offer in Serbia and those offers should be connected with the international one. Last November, we launched an ambitious program of 18 million euros in EU donations, which focuses on the lower Danube and eastern Serbia,” Fabrizi said.
He states that this year the corona virus has changed the way of life of all people on the planet, including travel, but regardless of that, says Fabrizi, the EU has decided to continue helping the tourism sector and to mitigate the consequences in Serbian tourism with an emergency program.
That emergency program, he explains, are precisely the grants that were awarded today in the amount of one million euros for 120 projects that are aimed at micro and small enterprises and family businesses.
The goal of allocating those funds, Fabrizi points out, is for small market players in the tourism sector to overcome the crisis more easily and prepare better for the winter season and the 2021 season.
Fabrizi states that more than 450 projects applied for help, and that 120 of them were selected, and added that he was satisfied with how the Serbian business community responded to their call.
He announced that the EU will support Serbian tourism with another project that will refer to the training on disinfection of catering facilities, in order to more easily obtain certificates that they are safe for receiving tourists.
The leader of the project team “EUforYou – for cultural heritage and tourism”, Aleksandar Bec, announced that “EUforYou” will announce another competition that will give an opportunity to those who did not receive funds in the first round to apply again.
“This grant package is extremely important because it is aimed at small and family businesses in the tourism sector, and those are the hardest hit by the pandemic, and we hope EU support will enable them to improve their tourism offer,” Bec said.
The right to participate in the competition had individuals who provide accommodation services, farms and entrepreneurs / micro and small enterprises whose activities in the field of tourism take place in Boljevac, Bor, Golubac, Kladovo, Knjazevac, Majdanpek, Negotino, Pozarevac, Smederevo, Sokobanja, Veliko Gradiste and Zajecar.
“EU for You – for cultural heritage and tourism” is a project aimed at the development of tourism as a significant economic potential for stimulating the economic development of eastern Serbia and the Lower Danube.
The project is funded by the European Union with 15 million euros, co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development with 1.6 million euros, and implemented by the German Organization for International Cooperation (GIZ).
