Aid scheme to promote sustainable tourism announced

Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco this morning launched a €10m scheme through which grants will be given for private sector projects aimed at sustainable tourism.

He said that projects which would fall under this scheme were those promoting Malta’s cultural heritage, investment in environment-friendly measures, investment in marketing, the use of of ICT in tourism, product upgrades and investment in equipment

He said the grants would range from 30% to 50% of total project costs.

He suggested that small enterprises could group together for particular projects and submit a joint application.

The funds will be coming from EU structural funds.

Dr de Marco said no decision had been taken yet over whether NGOs would be able to apply individually for assistance, but they could apply in joint ventures with private companies.

Dr de Marco said the tourism industry was increasingly seeing a shift from the tour operator market to individual travel where tourists sought authentic experiences. Tourism, he said, could not continue growing at all costs and had to embrace Malta’s environment and cultural heritage, despite mistakes which may have been made in the past.

Applications open in February. Those seeking further details should write to tourismschemes.opm@gov.mt.