Open Call: COASTOUR Grants Scheme for Tourism Businesses

Tourism contributes to on average 11% of the EU’s GDP and is one of the sectors mostly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on data from 2018, 51,7 % of EU tourist accommodation establishments were in coastal and maritime areas, which are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, while 32,9 % of them were in rural areas; whereas the outermost regions are characterized by their remoteness, insularity and strong economic and social dependence on the tourism and transport sectors, which makes them even more vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COASTOUR project’s focus is on the sustainable and resilient transformation of the rural coastal tourism industry. Consortium partners, hereby 2 Destination Management organizations, 1 University, and 4 Business Support organizations represent coastal rural areas in 5 countries: Denmark, Lithuania, Italy, Portugal, and Slovenia.

Objectives

• Increase in the competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability of European rural coastal tourism SMEs.
• Transnational capacity building.
• Strengthening of sustainability advisory support ecosystem synergies with already existent European sustainability frameworks and tools.
• Improvement of efficiency and effectiveness of the existing EU sustainability frameworks and schemes.
• Accordingly, the main aim of the project is to develop a sustainability monitoring framework and open access self-assessment tool.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount available under Call II is €360,000, with equal budgets of €72,000 provisionally allocated to each of the five following countries: Denmark, Portugal, Italy, Slovenia and Lithuania.
• However, the country budgetary allocations may vary, depending on interest by SMEs, therefore some countries may have a larger budget than others.
• The financial support under this Call is provided in the form of grants.
• These may include the purchase, installment, and use of sustainability impact monitoring IT equipment, such as water consumption meters, smart waste scales, tablets, and other smart communication tools (to be agreed upon with the COASTOUR consortium) to encourage sustainable behavior by guests.
• Tools and or Technology Solutions expenses costs cannot exceed 20% of each individual grant amount.
• The maximum amount of grant per applicant under this Call is set to be €9,000. There is no minimum amount. Funding amounts to 100% of eligible expenses up to a maximum of €9,000. No co-financing on behalf of the SME is required. However, in case of any extra costs overreaching €9,000, these will need to be financed by the awarded SME.

Ineligible Funding

• The following costs are not eligible:
  • Debt and debt service charges (interest).
  • Provisions for losses or potential future liabilities.
  • Duties, taxes, and charges, including VAT. VAT is eligible only in the case it is non-deductible by the SME (in which case supporting evidence is required.
  • Loans to third parties.
  • Fines, penalties, and expenses of litigation.
  • Contributions in kind.
  • Payments made in cash and or cheque.
• The grant under this Call does not constitute “State Aid” and as such is not to be taken into account for the de minimis calculation.

Eligible Activities

• Only activities that have been confirmed based on the application and implemented after the information letter on the grant and within the agreed implementation period are eligible. These activities include:
  • Preparation and audit fees for sustainability certification schemes (such as EU Ecolabel, EMAS, etc).
  • External expert training and capacity building of tourism SMEs on a broad range of topics within the green and digital transition, such as energy efficiency, resources consumption, circular solutions, waste management, water management, ecodesign, green procurement, mobility and transport, and social innovation.
  • Costs of travel expenses to tourism-relevant brokerage matchmaking pitching investor events focusing on sustainable and digital tourism solutions and technology providers addressing organizational challenges identified.
  • External expert support for the preparation process of patent applications, feasibility studies, prototyping, pilot testing, demonstrations and pitch preparation support, FTA documents, and IT systems.
  • Purchase, installment, and use of sustainability impact monitoring IT equipment, such as water consumption meters, smart waste scales, tablets, and other smart communication tools to encourage guests to sustainable behavior (limit of maximum 20% of total grant amount).

Eligibility Criteria 

• Be a Micro, Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME).
• Have VAT registration number.
• Have economic activity within the following tourism sector:
  • Hotels and similar accommodation.
  • Holiday and other short-stay accommodation.
  • Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks, and trailer parks.
  • Restaurants and mobile food service activities.
  • Beverage serving activities.
  • Renting and leasing of motor vehicles.
  • Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities.
  • Libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural activities.
  • Creative, arts and entertainment activities.
  • Travel agency, tour operator reservation service, and related activities.
  • Sea and coastal passenger water transport.
  • Inland passenger water transport.
• Be established and operating in at least one of the following eligible countries, with priority given to tourism SMEs operating in coastal zones and/or predominantly rural or significantly rural/intermediate regions:
  • Denmark
  • Portugal
  • Italy
  • Slovenia
  • Lithuania

For more information, visit COASTOUR.