The green tourist train is pictured in the Pétrusse valley in Luxembourg City Shutterstock

The green tourist train is pictured in the Pétrusse valley in Luxembourg City Shutterstock

As part of the “Restart Tourism. Stabiliséieren. Adaptéieren. Promouvéieren” initiative, the tourism directorate has established a €3m fund to support not-for-profits in the tourism sector. The fund can be put towards salaries and operational costs for large-scale tourism projects or regional or national initiatives.

To quality, associations must have been professionally managing tourism accommodation, a tourist site or a tourist activity, or operating the infrastructure since 15 March 2020. They should be active during the month in which the grant is requested and must be affiliated as an employer to the Joint Social Security Centre.

A €1,250 subsidy is offered for each full-time equivalent (FTE) in employment may be requested for the months of June, July, August, September, October and November (6 months). The subsidy can reach a maximum of €10,000 per month for organisations with fewer than 10 employees, €50,000 per month up to 50 employees and €100,000 per month for those with more than 50 employees. Voluntary work is not considered.

The association applying for a contribution to the operating costs must claim expenses in relation to the management of a tourist accommodation, a tourist site or a tourist offer, and more particularly in relation to expenses relating to communication and publicity or relating to the implementation of a digitalisation project from 15 March to 31 December 2020. It is possible to apply for a contribution towards communication and advertising costs. This will be calculated at 50%, capped at € 10,000. The costs relating to a digitisation project will be borne at a rate of 100%, with a maximum amount of €25,000.

It should be noted that the contribution to the remuneration costs and operating costs can be combined. Extraordinary Covid-19 state aid as well as aid granted by agreement by the economy ministry or other ministries and relating to the same costs will be deducted from the present contribution to the remuneration costs as well as to the operating costs of tourist projects or initiatives managed by non-profit organisations.

Detailed information on the new aid for associations managing tourism infrastructure will be available from Wednesday via guichet.lu.

Across the EU, tourism contributes 10% of GDP, and 6.5% in Luxembourg. In May, the European Commission recommended promoting and supporting local tourist attractions through voucher schemes. In July, Luxembourg issued €50 vouchers to every person aged over 16 living or working in Luxembourg to be used to pay for accommodation within the grand duchy. A raft of cycling initiatives has also been launched for the month of August.