Greece’s Small Tourism Accommodations to Get Access to EU Funds

Small tourism accommodations operating in Greece are expected to have access to EU Cohesion policy funds within the first quarter of 2021, the Greek Confederation of Tourist Accommodation Enterprises (SETKE) said recently.

The announcement came following a meeting held between SETKE’s president, Panagiotis Tokouzis, and Greek Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis, which focused on the confederation’s request for the inclusion of small tourism accommodations in development programs, as until now such businesses are excluded due to certain restrictions.

During the meeting, Minister Georgiadis assured that funds for small accommodations will be available through the EPAnEK program (Operational Programme for Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship & Innovation) that will launch within the first quarter of 2021.

“The Development and Investment Ministry and its minister showed excessive willingness to establish a development program exclusively for small tourism accommodation businesses, which today are suffering from the effects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic,” Tokouzis said in an announcement.

SETKE represents some 39,000 family-owned tourism businesses.

The EPAnEK program offers EU funds to enhance the competitiveness and extroversion of enterprises, to facilitate transition to quality entrepreneurship, while at the same time advancing innovation and growth of domestic added value. It is one of the regional operational programs of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (National Strategic Reference Framework) approved by the EU.