HORES: State aid for city hotels to mitigate business crisis and keep employees

The President of the Assembly of the Business Association of Hotel and Restaurant Industry of Serbia (HORES), Tomislav Momirovic, has stated that the first sector state aid, meant for city hotels, of EUR 350 per bed and EUR 150 per room, will mitigate the consequences of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

– The aid is meant for city hotels which had no other way of making up for their business losses, because it's not likely that people from Leskovac or Backi Petrovac are going to come to hotels in Belgrade and Novi Sad in any significant quantities. It's not realistic – Momirovic said for RTS.

He said that there was no hotel business in the cities at the moment and that, under such circumstances, the priority was to keep the infrastructure and the employees.

– The only condition for direct help is not to lay off workers. This measure will help keep workers over the next six months, which is how long this will certainly last. The government will cover two or three salaries and hotel companies will cover as many from reserves or loans in the conditions when there are no guests – he said and reminded that the occupancy rate in Belgrade hotels had dropped to below 9%.

The Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Serbia, Rasim Ljajic, announced several days ago that he expected a payment of RSD 1.25 billion to around 280 hotels in cities in late September or early October.

HORES Beograd

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo turizma i omladine Republike Srbije

Business Association of Hotel and Restaurant Industry of Serbia

HORES

Tomislav Momirovic

Rasim Ljajic

sector state aid

state aid to city hotels

city hotels

coronavirus

covid 19

pandemic

crisis

hotel business