Extra €10 million for tourism companies

A €60 million line of credit provided by the government to help companies offset the effects of the pandemic has been given an additional €10 million booster.

The decision was taken after the existing State support mechanism set up in 2020 was flooded with applications.
The Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques says “demand has been high” with a commitment rate of 99% and 14,219 applications for finance approved from a total application amount far outstripping supply which already stands at €138.5 million.
The credit line comprises a repayable grant without interest corresponding to €750 per month for each job in the applicant company registered on 29 February, 2020 multiplied by a period of three months and up to a maximum amount of €20,000.
Furthermore, the micro and small companies in the tourism sector — which employ less than 10 full-time staff and whose annual turnover or total annual balance does not exceed €2 million — “continue to suffer considerably to the effects caused by the pandemic” which “justifies an additional booster of €10 million,” states Rita Marques in a government dispatch published in the government circular Diário da República.
The additional money will be made available from today (11 August) to support “company cashflow” and shows that the government recognises these companies additional temporary requirements.
The requirements necessary to obtain the finance remain the same: the companies must not owe monies to either the tax authorities or social security department and must prove to the Portuguese tourism office, Turismo de Portugal, that they have a licence to operate in the sector in any given registered activity and show that their activity was duly negatively affected by the pandemic in terms of revenues.