Tourism, €17 million for Lombard accommodation facilities

A €17-million investment to support the competitiveness of accommodation facilities in Lombardy: this is measure approved with a resolution by Lombardy Regional Council on the advice of Lara Magoni, the Regional Councillor for Tourism, Local Marketing and Fashion. This measure aims to promote projects to build and redevelop hotels and outdoor accommodation facilities.

A long-awaited measure

“After 15 years, Lombardy has passed a measure that seeks to qualitatively improve the accommodation our region has to offer, to make it increasingly attractive and welcoming,” the Regional Councillor, Lara Magoni, explained. “The Olympic dream forces us to be immediately at the forefront in making our accommodation more attractive. Having hotels and modern, functional and efficient outdoor facilities for the world to see means being able to provide invaluable added value to best accommodate international visitors.”

The beneficiaries

The measure is intended for micro, small and medium-sized businesses, and seeks to promote projects of excellence to support the building and redevelopment of hotel accommodation facilities (hotels, hotel and tourist residences, virtual hotels and condo hotels) and non-hotel, outdoor accommodation facilities (holiday villages, camping sites and rest areas). The €17 million allocation will also be able to fund, to an unsecured level of 50%, projects with a minimum investment of €80,000, with the possibility of receiving a maximum contribution of €200,000.

The macro topics

The projects will have to relate to the following macro topics: Food and wine & food experience, Nature & green, Sport & active tourism, Hot springs & wellness, Fashion & design, Business conventions & incentives. Permissible expenses include furniture, machinery, equipment, facilities and construction and plant work.

The numbers are clear

The numbers speak clearly. According to Councillor Magoni, “Lombardy is seeing an increasing number of international visitors. The data concerning tourist flows, from January to September 2019 (Polis processing of provisional data collected by the Italian institute of statistics, ISTAT) say that the number of arrivals was 14,271,798, and of visitors, 35,928,599. These numbers demonstrate the boom in tourism in Lombardy, given that, with respect to the same period in 2018, the number of arrivals increased by 5.8%, and of visitors, by as much as 7.5%. So, we are seeing a real boom in tourism, which Lombardy would like to increase further, by offering tourists efficient services, high-quality facilities and a tourism product that is increasing competitive on an international level.”

Our business card

“Accommodation facilities represent the business card of our Region,” Magoni said, “and I really hope the operators in the industry seize this important opportunity, which will give essential nourishment to their business, also and especially in view of the upcoming challenges that await us, starting with the 2026 Olympics. It will be a time for sport and for promoting tourism, which is really important for our region.”