A €55 million aid package for tourism businesses in Ireland not covered by other Covid-19 support schemes has been unveiled by the Dublin government.
Types of businesses eligible to participate in the new Tourism Business Continuity Scheme from this month include outdoor activity providers such as bike tours, surf schools and caravan and camp sites.
Grants of up to €200,000 will be made available under the initiative to be administered by Failte Ireland, the country’s national tourism development authority.
The details were given an ‘Survive to Thrive’ virtual industry event on Monday.
Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost in the sector that employed 260,000 pre-pandemic and turnover has dropped by €6 billion from €7.5 billion before Covid-19 struck.
The Tourism Business Continuity Scheme is designed to help tourism businesses offset their fixed costs incurred last year and support them to continue operating through 2021.
Between 1,200 and 1,600 businesses will qualify for new grants, according to Failte Ireland chief executive Paul Kelly. Full details will be available from February 11 with the scheme launching in March.
Tourism minister Catherine Martin said the government plans to safely reopen international travel as early as possible, without confirming when.
She admitted that recovery will not occur overnight and told tourism businesses: “I want to assure you that the government will make every effort to facilitate inbound tourism at the earliest possible opportunity, when it is safe to do so.”
She detailed financial help provided by the state and said: “There will be no cliff-edge ending to these supports.”
“The government will continue to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and ensure that appropriate supports are in place,” Martin added.
“We are now developing tourism for survival through the pandemic and recovery in the medium and long term.”
Kelly said his organisation is “hopeful that some kind of domestic tourism activity can start again this summer” adding that was too early to predict when international travel will be reopened.
“On balance it is probably best to plan on the basis that the domestic market will be the primary source of revenue again this year,” he said.
Kelly cited Tourism Ireland research predicting that domestic tourism will resume first followed by visitors from nearby markets such as the UK and Europe followed by the US and other long-haul markets.