MEASURE FACT SHEET

Supports tourism projects with high growth potential, inducting effects, externalities, innovation and excellence, and in particular projects focusing on the improvement and valorisation of classified heritage, and on sustainable tourism, nature, sports, cultural and business tourism.

Goals

• To valorise, create and stimulate the offer of high-end tourism products;
• To valorise the historical, cultural and natural heritage.

Beneficiaries

Enterprises.

Activity Sectors

Tourism, with the following EAC:

Activity Sectors	Eligible EAC
Tourism	551, 552, 553, 554, 9232, 9233, 9261, 9262, 9272, 92342, 93041 and 93042

Type of Projects

a) Projects for rehabilitation or conversion of classified heritage

• Hotels, inns and similar;
• Rural Hotels;
• Family-run hotels, agro-tourism and tourism in rural areas;
• Spas;
• Restaurants and bars;
• Other establishments that may be declared as having an interest for tourism.

b) Nature Tourism Projects

• Hotels, inns and similar;
• Tourism resorts;
• Tourism in rural areas;
• Spas;
• Restaurants and bars;
• Other tourist accommodation considered as relevant;
• Public camping sites;
• Accommodation, tourism and environmental recreation establishments, activities or services having stationary facilities.
  

d) Tourist Recreation Projects

• Golf courses;
• Marinas or leisure harbours;
• Congress centres;
• Theme parks;
• Spas;
• Centres for nautical sports and nautical leisure activities;
• Horse riding centres or establishments;
• Mountaineering leisure centres;
• Facilities and equipment for tourism snow stations.

Eligibility Requirements

For the Promoter

• To be legally established;
• To have the necessary legal capacity to develop tourism activities;
• To fulfil the legal conditions required to carry out business activities, namely having been granted all the necessary licenses;
• To have an updated and organised accounting system, according to the National Accounting Plan;
• To have fulfilled all obligations related to taxes and social security, and towards the paying agency responsible for the incentive;
• To have the technical and management capabilities that ensure materialisation of the corresponding investment;
• To have a balanced economic and financial situation in the year prior to the application (no.1 of annex A to the Regulation);
• To assume the commitment of allocating the project to the tourism activity, as well as to maintain its geographical location, up to the final term established for the refunding of the refundable incentives or, if the incentives are non-refundable, for a minimum period of five years, starting from the date of the signature of incentive granting contract; 
• To have concluded all projects previously supported within the Programme’s framework, or to have fulfilled all the obligations undertaken in relation to those projects; 
• To fulfil all the regulations governing ESF support, whenever the project includes investments in vocational training.

For the Project

• Whenever legally required, the investment’s architectural projects or the specification memo should be previously approved or authorised by the relevant entity;
• Tourist recreation establishments, including spa facilities and restaurants, should have been previously certified as being of tourism interest by the Directorate-General for Tourism (except for restaurants and bars within nature tourism projects);
• To fulfil the legal conditions required to carry out business activities, under the terms of the applicable legislation;
• To be submitted before the beginning of its implementation; the expenses incurred into, totally or partially, before the application date shall not be considered as part of the project, except for: advance down-payments related to the project, up to 50% of the cost of each purchase; and for expenses related to studies and projects and to the purchase of land or buildings, whenever those were made less than one year before, or less than two years before in duly justified cases;
• To have an implementation calendar of no more than two years, except in duly justified and authorised cases;
• To have ensured the corresponding financing sources;
• To be adequately financed by equity capital (no. 2 of Annex B to the Regulation);
• To contribute to a better economic and financial situation and/or a better competitiveness of the promoter;
• To contribute to the development strategy of the promoting enterprise;
• To involve a minimum eligible investment estimated at current prices not lesser than: 
  • Classified heritage projects and sustainable tourism projects: €600.000 or €150.000 whenever their promoters are SMEs;
  • Nature tourism projects: €10.000; 
  • Tourist recreation projects: €2.500.000.
• As to large investment projects, to abide by the procedures established by the Multisectoral framework on regional aid, published by OJEC C70, of 19 March 2002;
• Whenever the project includes vocational training actions: to prove that the training plan is coherent and compatible with project objectives, and fulfils all regulations governing the European Social Fund;
• To justify project interest and tourism relevance, namely as to its use by tourists and the effective increase of the region’s attraction capacity.

Eligible Expenses

• Purchasing of land-property for golf courses;
• Buildings and infrastructures construction as well as, exceptionally, the purchase of vacant or unfinished buildings, and traditional mills (windmills, waterwheels and similar);
• Other construction and facilities rehabilitation or re-conversion works;
• Purchasing of social equipments mandatory by law;
• Environmental protection equipments purchasing and introduction of eco-efficient technologies;
• Purchasing and assembling of safety, and energy efficiency and saving materials and equipments;
• Purchasing of equipments directly related to production process;
• Studies, architectural and engineering projects, diagnosis, project validation audits and technical assistance;
• Technical assistance to management for project implementation;
• Actions related to the initial procedures for the qualification, certification or registration processes, in the quality, environment and safety areas as well as other additional expenses;
• Management computer systems, introduction of information and communication technologies, logistics upgrading, sales and marketing;
• Trademarks and permits purchasing and registration;
• Patents and licenses purchasing and registration;
• Vocational training;
• Advertising and marketing;
• Transport and insurance, equipment assembling and disassembling;
• Statutory auditors intervention.

• Land-property acquisition (except in the cases prescribed in the regulating Order in Council);
• Buildings acquisition (except in the cases prescribed in the regulating Order in Council);
• Subletting rights and space using rights;
•  Purchasing of furniture or other equipments non-directly related to the business activity essential functions;
• Motor vehicles and other transport equipment purchasing (except in the cases prescribed in the regulating Order in Council);
• Aircrafts and other aeronautic equipment;
• Second-hand goods purchasing (except in the cases prescribed in the regulating Order in Council);
• Interests during construction;
• Working capital;
• Commissions for the enterprise executed by the enterprise itself.

Selection Criteria

The investment projects will be selected according to their economic value, estimated on the basis of the following formula:

EV = 0,40A + 0,40B + 0,20C

In which the following criteria are considered:

• A – Sector merit of the project; 
• B – Income index; 
• C – Risk qualification.

Incentive

For incentive estimation purposes, the eligible expenses are split into two groups: Group I and II.

Group I

• Land-property, buildings and equipments, excluding investments to be made abroad, according to the regulating Order in Council;
• Technology transfer (patents, operating licences and know-how acquisition).

• 30% - for classified heritage projects, sustainable tourism projects and tourist recreation projects;
• 50% - for nature tourism projects.

Surcharges (except Nature Tourism)

• 10 p.p. - for projects located in disadvantaged municipalities, defined by a Ministerial Order from the Minister for Tourism;
• 10 p.p. - for projects promoted by SMEs (except the projects classified under the types "Classified Heritage" or "Tourism Activity" and located within the Grande Lisboa zone).

Whenever the goals established in the incentive granting contract are achieved, an accomplishment bonus will be awarded as a non-refunding of part of the granted refundable incentive.

Group II

• Vocational training;
• Other intangible assets.

The incentive is non-refundable and amounts to 30% of the eligible expenses.

Surcharges

• 5 p.p. - for projects located outside the Lisboa e Vale do Tejo zone;
• 10 p.p or 20 p.p. - vocational training component of projects promoted by SMEs, for specific or general training respectively; 
• 15 p.p. - other intangible assets of projects promoted by SMEs;
• 25 p.p. - for general training expenses, vocational training component of projects aimed at a type of training not specifically targeted to the present or future position of the promoters’ employees within the beneficiary enterprise; 
• 10 p.p. - vocational training expense for projects designed for handicapped workers.

Application submission

Applications shall be submitted by stages. A Ministerial Order from the Minister for Tourism shall establish the time limits, the regional modulation zones, NUTS covered and the budgetary allocations.

The applications shall be sent through the Internet using the electronic form available in this site, or delivered on the same form at one of PRIME Investor Offices.

At the moment there are no application stages open for this Measure.

Bodies in Charge

Coordinating Bodies

API - Agência Portuguesa para o Investimento (Portuguese Investment Agency): for projects representing an investment amount higher than 25 million euro, or submitted by an enterprise or a group with an annual turnover exceeding 75 million euro.

ITP - Instituto Português da Qualidade (Portuguese Tourism Board)

Specialised Bodies

IPQ - Instituto Português da Qualidade (Portuguese Institute for Quality)
DGGE - Direcção-Geral de Geologia e Energia (Energy and Geology Directorate-General)
ICN – Instituto da Conservação da Natureza (Institute for Nature Preservation)
IA – Instituto do Ambiente (Institute of Environment)

Geographical Area

Mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Regions. 

This information does not dispense with consulting the legislation.

Updated on November 2006.