Factsheet for measure
LT-2020-28/1162
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Updated
– measures in Lithuania
Loans to providers of tourism services
Paskolos turizmo paslaugų teikėjams
Background information
On 8 July 2020, Order No 4-536 of the Minister for the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania came into force in Lithuania to approve the Scheme of the financial instrument “Loans to providers of tourism and catering services”, providing for the loan granting scheme to tour operators. The measure is aimed at mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism business by way of providing funding to tour operators in the form of loans so that to enable them to settle accounts with travellers for their trips cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Content of measure
The loan may be granted to a tour operator operating in the Republic of Lithuania in cases where a traveller who has an organised tour contract refuses a travel voucher offered in accordance with the procedure established in Law on Tourism No VIII-667. The tour operator shall meet the following criteria to be eligible for the loan:
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a group of companies of which the borrower is a member and the borrower were not qualified as a firm in difficulty, subject to insolvency proceedings and/or under restructuring as of 31 December 2019;
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has a valid tour operator's certificate;
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has submitted a SME status declaration;
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has not received illegal support.
The maximum loan amount is €3 million. The loans are granted for a maximum term of 72 months if the loan amount is more than €20,000 and for a term of 18 months if the loan amount is up to €20,000.
Repayment of loans commences:
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6 months after the date of concluding the loan agreement, when the term of the loan is up to 18 months;
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12 months after the date of concluding the loan agreement, when the term of the loan is longer than 18 months.
The loan shall be granted by 31 December 2020 at the latest. The loan shall be disbursed to the borrower within 3 months from the conclusion of the loan agreement.
If the company is small or medium-sized, the loans bear a fixed annual interest rate of 0.1% to 0.69%, depending on the term of the loan. If the company is large, the loans bear a fixed annual interest rate of 0.19% to 1.69%.
The measure is implemented by the National Development Agency UAB Investment and Business Guarantees (Invega).
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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21 July 2021
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A new description of implementing provisions for the measure was approved by CEO’s Order No B-153 and the acceptance of applications for the measure was reopened from 23 July 2021.
The call is closing on 30 November 2021, at 23:59, or upon the allocation of the amount earmarked for the measure. A loan shall be granted and a loan agreement shall be signed no later than on 31 December 2021 and the loan shall be paid out by 31 March 2022.
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31 December 2020
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On 1 January 2021, the Order No 4-1189 of the Minister for the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania came into force in Lithuania that amended the Scheme of the financial instrument “Loans to providers of tourism and catering services”. According to the Scheme, the loans to providers of tourism services may be granted until 30 June 2021.
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Use of measure
According to Invega’s data, 15 agreements have been signed as of the end of September 2020 regarding direct loans to the providers of tourism services affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The total amount of loans under the signed agreements is close to €5.1 million.
A total of €30 million has been allocated for this measure targeting the providers of tourism services and accommodation and catering services.
INVEGA provides only general statistics on the providers of tourism services and accommodation and catering services. On 2 April 2021, there were a total of 174 applications filed for the total amount of €21.54 million, of which 55 have been approved, 112 rejected and 7 are being processed.
On 29 June 2021, there were a total of 201 applications filed for the total amount of €19.13 million, of which 57 have been approved, 144 rejected. Anticipated funds in the amount of €23 million are to be used by 30 September 2021.
Target groups
Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
Social partners jointly
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National funds
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Consulted
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Consulted
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Form
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Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal
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Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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No involvement
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Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level
Involvement
No information available.
Views and reactions
No information available.
Sectors and occupations
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This case is sector-specific
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Economic area
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Sector (NACE level 2)
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N - Administrative And Support Service Activities
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N79 Travel agency, tour operator and other reservation service and related activities
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This case is not occupation-specific.
Sources
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07 July 2020: Order No 4-536 of the Minister for the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania (LR ekonomikos ir inovacijų ministro įsakymas Nr. 4-536)
(e-seimas.lrs.lt)
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31 December 2020: Order No 4-1189 of the Minister for the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania (Respublikos ekonomikos ir inovacijų ministro įsakymas Nr. 4-1189)
(www.e-tar.lt)
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29 June 2021: Funds used by INVEGA
(invega.lt)
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21 July 2021: Description of implementing provisions for the measure
(invega.lt)
