Paphos tourism board to allocate up to €300,000 to local businesses

The Paphos regional board of tourism (Etap) this week announced that it has successfully participated in a European programme for smart small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), which will help to improve the competitiveness of local businesses.

According to the announcement, the programme, titled COSME, aims to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism sector, by further developing their capabilities.

The European Commission has previously explained that “COSME aims to create more favourable conditions for the creation of businesses and growth through several means, as described below”.

“Research indicates that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are disproportionately affected by regulation, so COSME aims to lighten the administrative burden on businesses by removing unnecessary reporting and information requirements,” it added.

Some of the programme’s actions include measuring the impact of EU law on SMEs, developing smart and business-friendly regulations, as well as reinforcing the ‘Think Small First’ principle for policy-making at the national and regional levels.

Etap went on to explain that through the programme, small and medium-sized enterprises will have the opportunity to carry out actions related to the green and digital transitions and boost their innovation, resilience, and sustainability efforts, as well as improve their quality of service quality, including in the tourism industry.

The Paphos tourism board added that the project involves 8 European partners from Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Slovenia, Greece and Cyprus.

The board also clarified that the programme is 100 per cent financed by the European Union, with 60 per cent of the budget being redistributed to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The duration of the programme is 36 months and has a total budget in excess of €3 million.

Finally, Etap Paphos said that it expects to absorb funds of up to €500,000, of which approximately 60 per cent will be given through strict procedures to local SMEs, enabling them to implement specific actions towards the green and digital transition.