Travel and catering service providers to apply for incentive loans until the end of May 2021.

The good news for travel operators and accommodation and catering service providers – the deadline for applying to the national development institution Investment and Business Guarantees (INVEGA) for loans under the incentive financial instrument “Loans to travel and catering service providers” was extended until 31 May 2021.

“We are entering 2021 with good news for this sector, which has been hit hard by COVID-19: the instrument for loans to travel and catering service providers, which came into force in July 2020, has been renewed and extended to continue the assistance and ensure business continuity” said Kęstutis Motiejūnas, Director General of INVEGA.

Companies in the tourism sector that hold valid travel operator or accommodation service classification certificates and have submitted their set of financial statements for 2019 to the Centre of Registers are eligible to apply to INVEGA for soft loans. In addition, another condition must be maintained – the borrower and the group of companies to which the borrower belongs, must be not considered to be in difficulty, according to the data as at 31 December 2019.

To obtain a loan, entrepreneurs will be required to submit a projected income statement, cash flow data and a SME status declaration.

According to Motiejūnas, in order to help tourism and public catering service providers, the state allocated EUR 30 million for the implementation of this measure. After adjusting the need for funds, EUR 22 million has been allocated to provide loans to accommodation and catering service providers who need these borrowed funds to cover basic expenses, such as salaries, rent of premises or equipment, etc. The remaining EUR 8 million is intended for settlements of travel operators with tourists whose trips have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The maximum size of one loan can amount to EUR 3 million. Depending on the size of the loan requested, the contract can be concluded for a period of 72 months and repayment can commence no later than 12 months after the date of signing the contract. The loans will be disbursed by 30 September 2021.

Detailed information on the conditions of loans to travel service providers and eligibility requirements can be found on the INVEGA website.