Financial support from Turismo Portugal encourages businesses in the country's interior

The tourism sector is a vital activity for the Portuguese economy, and Turismo de Portugal is committed to promoting tourism activities in the country's interior.

With the implementation of the Tourism Agenda for the Interior, an ambitious plan that aims to valorise the territory, invest in companies, qualify professionals, and project the interior and its offer, 200 million euros are made available to boost regional development.

Among the main measures adopted to realise this vision, 9 initiatives stand out, aiming to reinforce tourism attractiveness, foster business growth, and improve company competitiveness in the interior of Portugal.

But what exactly are these measures?

1. The +Interior, Tourism, Territory Line is one of the fundamental pillars of this strategy, with an allocation of 20 million euros. This financing line is intended to reinforce the tourism attractiveness of the territories, offering support of up to 70% of eligible expenditure and a non-repayable grant, up to a limit of 400,000 euros per project.

2. Another highlight is the Microcredit +Interior Tourism, which has a budget of 15 million euros. This programme aims at the creation, growth, and expansion of businesses for micro and SMEs, offering interest-free loans, with an associated performance premium that can amount to up to 30% of the granted credit as a non-repayable grant.

3. The Credit Line with Mutual Guarantee is endowed with 35 million euros and offers more robust guarantees for projects in the interior, aiming at the creation, growth, expansion of businesses, and treasury support.

4. To promote the qualification of the tourism offer in the interior, Turismo de Portugal provides a Support Line for the Qualification of Supply with an investment of 50 million euros.

5. The Capitalise Tourism +Growth Measure receives a reinforcement of 10 million euros and focuses on supporting company capitalisation operations, especially for expansion, internationalisation, or competitiveness improvement projects.

6. The Real Estate Investment Fund for the Interior makes 15 million euros available, intended for the creation, growth, and expansion of businesses based on real estate assets.

 7. The Return +Interior Tourism programme stands out as an incentive for the mobility of people to tourism companies in the interior, with an investment of 400,000 euros. This programme accepts applications approved under the "Support Measure for the Return of Emigrants to Portugal" or benefiting from professional internships supported by Turismo de Portugal.

8. Students are not forgotten, as the Study Tourism in the Interior programme allocates 200,000 euros to encourage the mobility of students residing on the coast to Turismo de Portugal's Hotel and Tourism Schools located in the interior.

9. And finally, to stimulate the holding of events in the interior, Portugal Events now counts on a 25% increase in support for the organisation of these events, demonstrating the commitment to boosting tourism activity throughout the region.

In summary, the Tourism Agenda for the Interior is an ambitious initiative aiming to positively transform the economic landscape of Portugal's interior. With a total investment of 200 million euros, these measures reflect Turismo de Portugal's commitment to boosting the sustainable growth of the tourism sector, promoting diversification, and strengthening the resilience of companies in the country's interior. Opportunities to financially boost the tourism sector exist; now, it is necessary to identify which of them suit the investments that companies intend to make.

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