Why is it relevant to tourism?
Projects financed by the EBRD address a wide range of sustainable practices and associated market trends in tourism. Of the 39 countries where the EBRD operates, 11 are within the EU. There are 3 programmes with specific relevance to the tourism sector, providing beneficiaries with a combination of financing and technical assistance.
Overview of tourism-related components
- The relevant projects financed by the EBRD under the Inclusive Tourism Framework are entirely tourism related. The framework aims to help local tourism sectors grow and upgrade through investments in hotels and tourism operators.
- Under the Integrated Cultural Heritage Framework (“ICHF”), the EBRD is seeking to support a holistic and integrated approach to regional development in pilot locations where their heritage resources can act as drivers of economic growth and sustainable tourism development. The EBRD funds projects located near or within a cultural heritage site, enhancing the commercialisation of areas around cultural heritage sites by crowding in the private sector and engaging with a multitude of actors and stakeholders. This contributes to the sustainable development and the competitiveness of cultural heritage tourism. Additionally, the EBRD funds projects contributing to the sustainable management and operation of cultural heritage, projects improving connectivity and accessibility to cultural heritage sites,improving the quality and availability of amenities, municipal infrastructure, as well as projects achieving backward linkages. Strengthening cultural heritage can help to diversify tourist attractions, facilitate higher local tourism expenditure, support marketing and branding strategies of cities/regions, and create jobs in the local economy.
- The EBRD’s Advice for Small Business programme under the Small Business Initiative supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from several sectors, including tourism. Through its network of international advisers and local consultants, the EBRD supports SMEs in a wide range of business areas, including strategy, digital marketing, operations, quality management, energy efficiency, financial management and beyond.
Details of the programme
- The EBRD’s Inclusive Tourism Framework in the Eastern Mediterranean: €250 million financing framework (to end in February 2023) available to private tourism companies in Croatia, Greece, Montenegro and Turkey. The objective of the Framework is to help local tourism sectors grow and improve through investments, as well as address transition gaps and maximise the local economic impact generated by tourism. The financing is thus coupled with technical assistance for the clients in two areas: inclusion (support for the creation of trainings, HR development, equal opportunities policies) and localisation (develop tourism models that generate benefits for the wider local economies). Additionally, EBRD also provides technical assistance for resource efficiency (example: audit, sustainability, and investment plans).
- The EBRD’s Integrated Cultural Heritage Framework has an approved budget of €150 million. It has been narrowed down to Uzbekistan in particular, with Romania and Jordan to be pursued only if and once relevant private sector pipeline projects are identified. The programme involves three main pillars:
- Strategic Vision/Policy Dialogue: institutional engagement at national/regional/local level is pursued via entering Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with relevant counterparties.
- Action Plan: targeting the gaps identified during the mapping studies, through trainings, capacity building, advisory, studies, and exchange programmes.
- Banking projects: comprising eligible EBRD-financed transactions for (i) Private sector (example: hotels, retail, restaurants, SMEs, local producers, telecom); and (ii) (Sub)Sovereign (example: buses, street lights, water, waste, electronic visa system, car parking).
- In addition to finance, the EBRD’s Advice for Small Business programme under the Small Business Initiative provides SMEs with access to business advice and know-how in order to improve their performance and help them grow. The programme operates in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, and in several countries outside the European Union.
Tourism projects in all eligible EU countries can also be financed independently, outside the above-mentioned frameworks.
Additional information
- Inclusive Tourism Framework
- Integrated Cultural Heritage Framework
- Advice for Small Businesses
- The EBRD’s coronavirus Solidarity package for existing clients
Examples of supported projects
Inclusive Tourism Framework
Project Title: Sunce Koncern (BlueSun)
Description: Syndicated senior loan of up to €39.35 million to Sunce Koncern d.d. (the ‘Company’), a hospitality corporation established in Croatia, and its key subsidiaries. The EBRD's loan is a part of a syndicated loan structure of up to €93 million to be provided by the EBRD and commercial co-lenders for refinancing permanent working capital and selected capital expenditures on the Company's hotels. The project is a part of the Inclusive Tourism Framework and provides technical assistance to the borrower in terms of inclusion and localisation.
EU contribution: N/A
Level of EU funding: N/A
Link to project: Sunce Koncern d.d. (ebrd.com)
The projects below are part of the EBRD Advice for Small Business programme under the Small Business Initiative across the EBRD’s Countries of Operation, funded by the EU and other donors, including the Small Business Impact Fund (SBIF).
Project title: Ideal SA in Greece adopts a new business plan
Description: Ideal SA is a family-run business, first established by two brothers in 2000 in Heraklion, on the island of Crete, Greece. The company works in the industrial laundry and linen rental industry, servicing customers in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and is committed to environmental sustainability. The company aimed to get its foot in different regional markets, but first needed to identify key areas for improvement and establish the necessary checks and controls in the current company structure to allow for expansion abroad. Ideal SA sought the EBRD’s support in order to develop a business plan that would undergird future growth. In 2021, with help from the EBRD and the European Union (through the EIB’s European Investment Advisory Hub), Ideal SA received advice from an expert in developing a pro-active methodology to access viable new markets.
EU contribution: €9,660 (EIB/EIAH)
Level of EU funding: 70%
Link to project: www.idealsa.gr
Project Title: Strategic planning and development for Burgozone EOOD winery
Description: Burgozone EOOD is a boutique, family-owned wine producer in Bulgaria. Perched on the slopes of the Danube river, close to the port city of Oryahovo, and overlooking the island of Esperanto, Burgozone is named after the Roman fortress built on the ancient road called Via Istrum. Overtime, this area developed into an important winemaking region. Burgozone chose to base itself in the unique terrain of the Danube river, known to produce some of the best quality grapes. In 2019, with support from the EBRD and the European Union (through the European Investment Bank’s European Investment Advisory Hub), the company hired a consultant to prepare a detailed business plan to use as a basis for securing a strategic partner for funding.
EU contribution: €10,430 (EIB/EIAH)
Level of EU funding: 70%
Link to project: https://www.burgozone.bg
Project Title: Mykonos Beach Hotel project, Greece
Description: Mykonos Beach hotel SA was established in 1975 on Mykonos island in the Cyclades. The hotel offers affordable mid-upscale beach accommodation, along with a number of amenities. The company needed help with developing a new business plan that would focus on its strategic development plans, support better decision making and lay the groundwork for discussions with financial institutions with respect to funding. In 2020, with the EBRD and the EU’s support (through the EIB’s European Investment Advisory Hub), Mykonos Beach Hotel sought the advice of an expert in order to create a new business plan, allowing the company’s management to make informed decisions on future plans and to approach local commercial banks for financing.
EU contribution: €10,430 (EIB/EIAH)
Level of EU funding: 70%
Link to project: Mykonos Beach Hotel
Project Title: Implementation of mid-term strategy for Istria Home ltd, Croatia
Description: Istria home is a tourist agency from Porec, Croatia, specialised in high-quality accommodation such as holiday villas and private apartments. The company owns 370 villas and 100 apartments that accommodated more than 20,000 people in Istria in 2020. Istria Home’s main sales channel is an online booking platform developed in-house. Although the company considered expanding its operations after a steady period of growth, it was not sure about which direction to take. The company engaged consultants, supported by the EBRD and the European Union (through the EIB’s European Investment Advisory Hub), who helped them devise a main strategy for the medium-term and agree on an implementation plan that will strengthen the company’s market position, further improve the efficiency of work processes and minimise potential business risks.
EU contribution: €12,000 (EIB/EIAH)
Level of EU funding: 70%
Link to project: Holiday homes and villas in Istria - Istria home (istria-home.com)
Project Title: La Scoica Land rebranding and marketing strategy, Romania
Description: Launched in the late 90s, La Scoica (“seashell”) is a family business located in the Romanian Black Sea port Constanta. The company operates a restaurant (La Scoica) in the city center and a resort (La Scoica Land, including accommodation, a restaurant and events space) located in Mamaia (north of Constanta), one of the most important tourist areas in Romania. To keep up with increasing competition in this tourist hotspot, and to increase business in the off-season, La Scoica decided to invest in a new brand and marketing strategy for La Scoica Land. In 2019, with support from the EBRD and the European Union (through the EIB’s European Investment Advisory Hub), the company engaged a local marketing consultant who created a new logo and visual identity, as well as a new website and social media page, all based on an in-depth brand audit and market research. The new digital tools proved to be the company’s saving grace during the coronavirus lockdown in Romania, helping La Scoica Land stay close to customers even when closed.
EU contribution: €9,723 (EIB/EIAH)
Level of EU funding: 70%
Link to project: La Scoica Land – family&friends – food&fun
Project Title: Information security for Eversails SMPC, Greece
Description: Eversails Single Member P.C. was established in 2015 in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia and is active in the yacht charter sector. The company manages 12 vessels that it rents out in three different ways: bareboat (no crew), skippered (professional skipper included) and crewed (permanent crew on-board). Eversails’ client base consists of a majority (95%) of large foreign booking agents and end-customers are mainly foreign residents, served on the 4 bases Eversails maintains in Greece (Alimos, Lavrion, Lefkada and Paros). Keeping in mind the nature of data processed, as well as the variety of systems used, the company needed expert advice in evaluating its data processing tools and policies, identifying potential flaws and laying out a roadmap for processes and tools in order to further secure data handling. In 2020, with EBRD and EU support (through the EIB’s European Investment Advisory Hub), Eversails implemented, with expert advice, an information security project which helped key executives deepen their knowledge of information security. This knowledge is expected to spread through the entire company's ecosystem.
EU contribution: €5,635 (EIB/EIAH)
Level of EU funding: 70%
Link to project: Catamaran Chartering in Greece | Sailing Yachts | Eversails