HORES: Only Around 200 Guests at 380 Hotels in Serbia

In the 380 hotels in Serbia (including all categories), there are around 200 guests, as shown by a survey conducted by the Business Association of Hotel and Restaurant Industry of Serbia (HORES).

The director of HORES, Georgi Genov, says for Beta that the this industry is in a very bad state and that some hotels will cease operations, as there are no guests, if the Government of Serbia does not find a way to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic and the restricted movement at today's session.

Representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia should decide at today's meeting whether to provide additional financial help to the most affected sectors.

– The hotels are empty and they need to pay the property tax and provide RSD 192,000 per worker by October 1 – Genov said.

He added that, by accepting the state's aid in the form of three minimum wages of RSD 30,000 per worker, the hotels also obliged not to let the employees go for three months.

– This means that the hotels need to provide the money for taxes and contributions for six months, from April to October, which they will pay in 24 installments from January 1, 2021, and salaries for employees by October 1, when the ban on layoffs ends, and this adds up to around RSD 192,000 – Genov said.

One of the biggest expenditures is the property tax of several dozen thousand euros each, which has not been postponed, and then also for the electricity used even when the hotel is not open.

Nearly every country in Europe and beyond has provided extended financial support to the hotel and hospitality sector, including Great Britain, which approves support in three-month periods.

Genov says that, according to the statistics, around 67,000 people work in this sector, and that, in seasons, around 30,000 more are hired.

HORES Beograd

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Privredna komora Srbije

Business Association of Hotel and Restaurant Industry of Serbia

HORES

Government of Serbia

Ministry of Finance

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

Georgi Genov

support by sector

coronavirus

covid 19

property tax

taxes and contributions

ban on layoffs