Green Tourism

The programme

The Green Tourism Act concerns the implementation of investments in the tourism sector by businesses operating as hotels or other tourist accommodation and operating within the Greek territory, while they do not fall under the exemptions of Regulation (EC) 1998/2006.

This Act aims to:

• The development of environmental awareness of those involved in the tourism process and the corporate social responsibility of tourism enterprises.
• Upgrading the services offered by the tourist units, improving the quality of the services provided and their environmental performance.
• The creation of infrastructures and action plans that meet the eco-certification criteria.

Who it concerns

• Natural or Legal Persons (Limited Liability Company, Limited Liability Company, General Partnership or Limited Partnership, Civil Law Partnership, as well as non-profit legal entities) operating tourist accommodation facilities that operate legally in accordance with the applicable provisions.
• Existing businesses operating in Greece.

Program budget 

The total budget to be allocated through the Green Tourism Act and coming from Public Expenditure amounts to € 12.904.207. The Public Expenditure of the Act is co-financed by the European Union and in particular by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and from national resources.

Amount of subsidy

The minimum budget per submitted investment project is €15.000 and the maximum budget can be up to the amount of €400.000 as set out in paragraph 4.3.5 which defines the aid rates and private participation. Investment projects that do not comply with the above minimum and maximum acceptable thresholds will be rejected.

Expenses subsidized

• Supply of machinery, special installations and other equipment.
• Buildings - landscaping - special and ancillary facilities.
• Costs of certification, verification, validation of environmental management systems.
• Consultancy fees and other services.
• Information and promotion.

Important dates

The deadline for submitting proposals is 20 December 2010 until 31 March 2011.

Necessary supporting documents for submission

• Photocopies of balance sheets and profit and loss accounts for the financial year 2009, only for companies keeping category C books.
• Photocopies of tax returns E1, E5 and F01 and detailed tax information E3, depending on the form of the company and whether or not it is subject to the obligation to keep books) for the 2009 financial year. In the case of more than twelve months of operation, a tabular breakdown by year of the turnover and profit before tax and depreciation figures with the relevant aggregated balance sheets must be provided.
• A photocopy of the last articles of association of the company with its amendments, for those companies that are required to do so.
• A photocopy of the staff list and working hours certified by the Labour Inspectorate, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 2874/2000 (Government Gazette 286/A/29.12.2000) and the E7 form for the 2009 financial year.
• A photocopy of a valid Special Operating License of the Business as defined by article 34 of Law No. 3498/2006 as well as the other required permits (e.g. permits for shops and establishments of sanitary interest).
• Certificate of Start of Activity from the competent D.O.Y.
• Declaration of change of business from the competent D.O.Y., which will include the mapping of the old Activity Codes with the new ones (i.e. from ID 97 to ID 08) as well as their changes since 1/1/2009.
• Photocopies of electricity consumption bills (PPC), water consumption bills (DEYA, etc.), invoices for the purchase or sale of thermal energy, natural gas bills or oil and/or LPG purchase invoices, covering the period from 01.01.2009 to 31.12.2009.
• A certificate from the municipality where the investment project is implemented, stating the population (only for investment projects on islands with a population of less than 3,100 inhabitants).

Useful files

Eligible nace code