The interest on the loans that the companies, whose work was banned in the field of tourism, have with the state Investment and Development Fund should be written off, that is, they should be covered by the Government, is one of the more recent proposals that could be heard at a recent meeting of representatives of the Operational Team to support tourism.
Although restaurateurs, beach tenants and partially hoteliers are starting to work today, the announced special measures to support tourism have not yet been adopted and made official. In front of the working group are over 50 measures requested by the Chamber of Commerce, the Employers' Union, the Montenegrin Tourist Association, associations of beach tenants, private accommodation, restaurateurs..., along with proposals from the line ministry.
The state team is preparing measures with the projection that the opening of borders, first regional ones, will be possible at the beginning of June - from June 1 to 10, and then the start of air traffic. Until then, that is, in the next two weeks, the budget rebalancing should be specified and a way of borrowing the state should be found, which will cover the expected drop in income and provide money for government measures to help the economy and vulnerable citizens. It is estimated that the total state coffers will lack around 455 million euros from the loan.
Serbia announced the opening of its borders to the countries of the region from June 1.
Proposals
The most important demands of the representatives of the tourism industry are that the moratorium on the repayment of existing loans be extended at least until the summer of next year, and that the grace period for new loans be at least two years with lower interest rates and no interest at the state IRF. Many representatives of the tourism industry believe that even the next season will not be good in order to have the income to pay back the loans.
Representatives of the tourism industry are also demanding a reduction in taxes and fees from the state and municipal levels, as well as the rental price of the Sea Property. The representatives of the beach tenants are asking for this cost to be reduced by 70 percent, because they expect the drop in income to be that much. Larger beach tenants should pay 50 to 60 euros for the season. They believe that due to epidemiological measures, they will be able to place up to 50 percent fewer deckchairs on the same area of the beach. Morsko dobo is ready for now to postpone the lease payment, as well as to monitor the income levels of the tenants during the season and adjust the fees accordingly. They also announced the possibility of increasing the area under the sunbeds, to the detriment of the part of the beach that, according to current regulations, should be free.
Representatives of the local authorities in the operational team announced that the municipalities will reduce some fees, but that their finances and those of the local utility companies are at risk. The option being discussed is for the state to cover part of these costs.
There are also requests that the state become more involved in advertising the tourist offer through the use of "corona free" status, that national and municipal tourist organizations do not charge membership fees or cut them in half, that their citizens are given vouchers for vacations in Montenegro, following the example of Croatia and Serbia. Burning...
When the borders are opened, one of the obligations will be testing for the coronavirus, which represents an additional cost. Some countries let the tourists pay for it, and some subsidize part of it. The prices of these tests could range from 25 to 100 euros, which would be a big expense for the family.
Air carriers will have fewer passengers per flight because most likely the middle seat will have to be empty, and in some countries every other seat is announced as well. The majority opinion within the group is for airports to reduce the prices of services, in order to relieve the carriers, but there is still an option for the state to subsidize them or pay for the empty seats requested by epidemiologists. This measure will depend on the behavior of competitive markets in Croatia, Spain and Greece.
From the previous measures, tourism companies and restaurateurs received subsidies equal to the gross minimum wage per worker, the possibility to postpone tax and credit obligations for up to 90 days...
For tourists, reduce the cost of testing and air tickets
The Association of Managers of Montenegro believes that the tourist offer must be among the first to be adapted in order to be attractive in these times.
"If we lose the chance now, short-term state aid will not mean much in the long run. Our chance is to provide a safe summer vacation. Together with tour operators and the Montenegrin economy, invest in laboratories at airports and rapid tests. Make agreements with the governments of countries in the region and airlines in terms of recognition of tests and the like. To carry out a selection of priority countries for incoming tourists and, in cooperation with the national air carrier Montenegro Airlines, to offer tourists and tour operators packages of subsidized air tickets, in order to ensure the lowest possible costs for tourists", stated the Association as part of the proposal for overcoming the economic crisis.
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