Deputy Tourism Minister Costas Koumis announced on Wednesday, April 3, a new grant program aimed at revitalizing rural, mountainous and remote areas of the island.
The scheme will have a total budget of €4 million. It should be noted that the amount allocated to the initiative will be fully covered by the European Union's Recovery and Sustainability Fund.
Koumis said that the main objective of the plan is to provide targeted assistance for the modernization or rehabilitation of public and private spaces, improving the aesthetics and accessibility of the countryside, as well as the development of special forms of tourism in rural areas.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that the new scheme is addressed to both individuals and legal entities, as well as local authorities.
At the same time, the scale of assistance provided in each case will be different. Thus, for business development, they plan to assist in the amount of 50% to 75% of the costs. The maximum amount that beneficiaries in this category will be able to count on will be 300 thousand euros. For local authorities, state support will amount to 100% of the total amount of expenditures on relevant activities with a maximum amount of funding of 65 thousand euros.
Applications from interested parties will be accepted from April 8 to June 28 or until the available budget is exhausted. The priority of consideration will be determined based on the proposals submitted.
Koumis said that "supporting mountainous and rural areas is a priority of the government of Nikos Christodoulides."
"The grant scheme we have just announced represents a great opportunity for both local authorities and residents of these particular areas to realize projects that they may have been planning for years. At the same time, we believe these projects are very significant for the development of tourism in the hinterland and other areas covered by the scheme," Kumis concluded.