Portugal Allocates 120-Mln-Euro Fund to Help Small Tourism Businesses

The Portuguese government has announced that it will allocate 120 million euros (144.7 million U.S. dollars) to help micro and small-sized tourism companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the start date for repayment of loans granted under this financing line has been postponed to June 30, 2022, according to a government decree published on Wednesday in the official gazette.

The Portuguese government also promised a prize of 250 euros if the company "demonstrates having obtained the 'Clean & Safe Establishment' seal," a certification indicating that the company complies with the health safety standards required to control the pandemic.

To access financing, micro and small-sized companies in the tourism sector will have to prove that they are "unable to effectively carry out the activity" due to the restrictive measures imposed by public authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19.

In 2020, the Portuguese hospitality sector suffered a revenue loss of 3.27 billion euros, which represented a drop of 73 percent compared to 2019, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Portuguese Hotel Association. (1 euro = 1.21 U.S. dollars)