The Notice establishes criteria and methods for the granting of concessions to large businesses and SMEs and provides for the expansion, modernization and renovation of properties intended or to be allocated to tourist hotel activities for the development of products and services complementary to the valorisation of the cultural and natural attractors of the territory, with the following purposes:
– the raising of the quality standards of the offer and the expansion and improvement of services in an ecological and green key, guaranteeing better accessibility and environmental safety;
– the digitalisation of companies operating in the tourism sector to enhance their level of competitiveness and spread and support the evolution of the tourism industry 4.0, encouraging the creation of new digital cultural and tourist services and the creation of innovative elements for the tourism ecosystem tourism in Puglia;
– the training of operators in order to promote innovative models of work organization to develop skills, digital and otherwise, through qualified training courses aimed at fully enhancing the tourism potential of the regional territory;
– support and qualify regional employment including female employment.
Beneficiaries
The Integrated Facilitation Programs can be presented by a large, medium or small enterprise as well as by business networks / consortia.
Eligible interventions
If non-EU financial resources become available in the future, productive investments by large companies may be facilitated.
The Integrated Tourism Facilitation Programme, aimed at large, medium and small businesses, must be made up of productive investments intended for the creation of:
a) new tourist-hotel activities, through the physical and/or functional recovery of unfinished structures, legitimately started, intended for tourist-hotel activities;
b) expansion, modernization and renovation of existing tourist-hotel facilities with the aim of raising quality standards and/or classification;
c) construction of tourist-hotel facilities with non-accommodation capacity
less than 7 rooms, through extraordinary maintenance works, consolidation and the restoration and conservative rehabilitation of properties that
present artistic and historical interest for which, on the date of submission of the request for access, the declaration referred to in the art. 13 of Legislative Decree no. 42 of 01/22/2004 (Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code) or other title pursuant to law;
d) extraordinary maintenance, consolidation, restoration and conservative redevelopment of rural buildings, farms, trulli, towers, fortifications for the purpose of transforming the property into hotel facilities with an accommodation capacity of no less than 7 rooms.
e) recovery and redevelopment of abandoned buildings and/or in need of extraordinary maintenance, restoration and conservative redevelopment or building renovation works referred to in the Presidential Decree of 6 June 2001, n. 380 "Consolidated Law on legislative and regulatory provisions on construction" and subsequent amendments, to be used for the construction of accommodation, conference, sports, cultural and/or recreational facilities.
f) structures, systems or interventions through which the territorial tourist offer is improved with the aim of encouraging the deseasonalisation of tourist flows.
Eligible expenses
The Integrated Tourism Concession Program must be made up of Productive Investments integrated with digital, technological, energy and waste management investments, through at least one of the following interventions:
to. technological, strategic, organizational and management innovation projects for tourism businesses;
b. training projects aimed at qualifying skills relating to digital transformation, sustainable tourism, ecological transition and green reconversion, in close correlation with the regional smart specialization strategy;
c. investments in favor of environmental protection.
The supported project may also include, exclusively for SMEs:
d. specialist consultancy programmes, including Internationalisation; And. expenses for participation in trade fairs.
The Notice can facilitate initiatives proposed by a business/consortium network, aimed at promoting an integrated project aimed at increasing tourist flows, including international ones, expanding the business of each individual participant in the network, through coordinated tourist offer packages, digital investments , internationalization activities, training interventions, centralized management and programming also through the use of dedicated platforms accessible to network/consortium member companies.
The Integrated Tourism Facilitation Packages must concern investment programs with a total amount of eligible expenses and costs between 5 million euros and 40 million euros.
Productive investment programs must include eligible expenses not exceeding 90% of the integrated project.
Investments for innovation in favor of SMEs cannot exceed 2 million euros.
Investments for process and organizational innovation cannot exceed 5 million euros for large companies and 2 million euros for SMEs.
Investments in training cannot exceed 4 million euros for large companies and 2 million euros for SMEs.
Investments for environmental protection cannot exceed 10 million euros for large companies and 5 million euros for SMEs.
SMEs' expenses for consultancy and internationalization services cannot exceed 500 thousand euros and expenses for participation in fairs cannot exceed 500 thousand euros.
Investments relating to the business network program cannot be less than 2 million euros and not more than 5 million euros.
Facilitation
Non-repayable contribution. For Productive Investments, benefits for eligible expenses are granted within the following limits:
• 30% for large companies; • 40% for medium enterprises; • 50% for small businesses.
In the context of Productive Investments, companies will be able to indicate in the financial economic plan a combination of percentages for investments in fixed capital and intangible assets (a) and for salary costs (b), provided that the combination between costs (a) and (b) does not exceed the limits indicated above.
Exclusively in the context of Productive Investments, the concession percentages may be increased by 10% based on the rewards. These benefits cannot exceed the limits established by the Aid Charter - State Aid.
The incentives for the Innovation of SMEs are granted up to a limit of 50% of the overall expenditure deemed appropriate, relevant and deemed eligible.
The benefits for process and organizational innovation do not exceed 15% of the eligible costs for large companies and 50% of the eligible costs for SMEs.
In relation to Training Aid, the aid intensity does not exceed:
– for large companies 50% of eligible costs;
– for medium-sized enterprises 60% of eligible costs.
Finally, this intensity can be increased by 10 percentage points if the training is intended for workers with disabilities or disadvantaged workers.
– for small businesses 70% of eligible costs.
For investments in favor of environmental protection, the aid intensity does not exceed: for energy efficiency measures:
– 45% of eligible costs for large companies;
– 55% of eligible costs for medium-sized enterprises;
– 65% of eligible costs for small businesses.
investments for the promotion of energy from renewable sources, renewable hydrogen and high-efficiency cogeneration on:
– 45% of eligible costs for large companies; – 55% of eligible costs for medium-sized enterprises; – 65% of eligible costs for small businesses.
The benefits relating to consultancy services are granted exclusively to SMEs within the limit of 50% of the overall expenditure deemed appropriate, relevant and deemed eligible.
With exclusive reference to sports infrastructure, the use of which is open to more than one athlete, professional or otherwise, for at least 20% of the total time per year, the amount of aid does not exceed the difference between the eligible costs and the operating result of the 'investment. The operating result is deducted from the eligible costs ex ante, on the basis of reasonable projections and the aid cannot in any case exceed 60% of the aforementioned difference for large companies and 70% of the aforementioned difference for SMEs.
With exclusive reference to multifunctional recreational infrastructures, understood as recreational facilities with a multifunctional character that offer, in particular, cultural and recreational services, excluding amusement parks and hotels, the amount of aid does not exceed the difference between the eligible costs and the operating result of the investment. The operating result is deducted from the eligible costs ex ante, on the basis of reasonable projections, and the aid cannot in any case
exceed 60% of the eligible costs for large enterprises and 70% of the eligible costs for SMEs.
Presentation
Waiting for the publication of the implementing decree. Publication expected in the second half of 2023.
Photo by Transly Translation Agency on Unsplash
