Italy Council of Ministers allocates €191.5 billion to boost tourism

Rome: About €191.5 billion in funds have been allocated to Italy’s Tourism through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which will support tourism enterprises in the country.

The decision was determined during the Council of Ministers, and it aims to restore the economic and social rates, which have been highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The fund also anticipates investing in two crucial sectors for Italy, tourism, and culture, by operating through a digital approach for the relaunch.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is a reform package with €191.5 billion in resources and €30.6 billion being funded through the Complementary Fund established by Italian Decree-Law No. 59 of May 6, 2021.

The plan is expected to work in three strategic areas: digitization and innovation, ecological transition, and social inclusion. The plan is an intervention that intends to minimize the economic and social damage caused by the pandemic crisis and also to contribute to addressing weaknesses in the Italian economy. NRRP Plan foremost intends to lead the country towards a more ecological and environmental approach and has six missions to fulfil, with one of them being tourism.

Previously, the European Commission introduced a new framework, which intends to improve inclusivity and diversion of the Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps program until 2027.

Furthermore, the program’s budget approved in March reaches about €28 billion and is being distributed to offer financial support to those in need, assistance in learning the respective languages, flexible learning opportunities and simplified communication.

“This an important confidence boost for tourism businesses and workers. The measures provided for by the decree offer an important contribution to the restart, as they support the redevelopment of accommodation facilities, with non-repayable contributions and tax credit, and accompany the disbursement of credit, for ensuring the business continuity of companies in the tourism sector and guarantee liquidity needs and investments,” Bernardo Boca, the President of the Italian national hotelier association, Ferlalberghi, said.

“Digitization, Innovation, Competitiveness, Culture” aims to stimulate the country’s digital transformation by investing in a digital approach to the relaunch of tourism and culture. It will also offer a total of €49.2 billion, of which €40.7 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and €8.5 billion from the Complementary Fund.

As SchengenVisaInfo.com previously reported, the European travel and tourism sectors are lagging compared to global tourism, as it has increased about 6.8 per cent less compared to the global market.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), The European travel and tourism sector can expect only €270 billion to the Union’s GDP, which marks a growth of 23.9 per cent for 2021.