To tackle the tourist crash due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has just approved new support from 3 million euros to Terceira island (Açores).
The allocation, aimed at the tourist and economic revitalization of the Azorean island, will be transferred in the next 2 years for the Angra do Heroísmo Chamber of Commerce, ou seja, between January 2021 and December 2022, and will be supported by funds to be entered in the budget of Turismo de Portugal.
– With the arrival of the Covid-19 disease pandemic, we have seen a very strong and sudden retraction in travel, with a direct and immediate impact on the demand for services offered by companies in the tourism sector, who had just left a low season and found themselves, from one moment to the next, no search. The effects observed throughout the national territory are strongly felt in island tourist regions, read in the resolution published this Wednesday, 9 de Setembro, in the Official Gazette.
This money will be channeled to support tourism projects that provide tourism and economic development on the island of Terceira, fostering employment and social cohesion, the requalification of companies in the sector, improving connectivity, boosting and promoting tourism operations, the qualification of human resources, the focus on structuring diversified products based on the island's cultural and natural heritage, as well as promotion for specific segments that also contribute to the diversification of markets.
The diploma of the Council of Ministers provides for the release of these funds by extending the support of the national government to the so-called Economic Revitalization Plan of Terceira Island (PRICE), implemented by the regional government in 2015 after the US decided to reduce the military contingent stationed at Base das Lages.
This special incentive regime includes measures such as exemption from fees and licensing costs for maritime-tourist activities, the reduction of 50% the value of the airport charges of Aerogare Civil das Lajes during 6 anos, as well as the reduction in half of the minimum investment value for a project to be considered of regional interest (PIR), that passed to 2,5 milhões de euros.
