Presentation of UmbriAperta: 17M€ package of measures for tourism

UmbriAperta presented: packet of actions worth 17 M€ for tourism

“Umbriaperta” is the package of measures developed by the Regional Council of Umbria to support local authorities, the business system and citizens for the relaunch of tourism in the region. It was presented today during a videoconference attended by the national Minister for Tourism, Massimo Garavaglia; the President of the Umbria Region, Donatella Tesei; the Regional Councillor for Tourism, Paola Agabiti; and Michela Sciurpa, President of Sviluppumbria.

Umbriaperta is divided into five instruments for a total of 12.15M€, to which are added 4.9M€ for relief in the tourism sector, for a total commitment of over 17M€.

“These instruments go in the right direction,” said Minister Garavaglia, “because they demonstrate organisational capacity and calls for proposals aimed at securing the tourism system and overcoming the critical phase dictated by the pandemic in order to look ahead. The Ministry will support this phase also thanks to its strong ties with all the other ministries. Tomorrow, for example, in the area of safe mobility, the Covid-tested Milan-Rome train will start.” Recalling that while Europe is working on the Green Pass to ensure safe travel, the minister noted that in our country “it is possible to anticipate measures that allow the reopening while the vaccination plan is pending. This could speed the start-up of the project, because businesses need to be able to prepare themselves, and as a government we need to give certain dates that could arrive as early as Friday. It is essential,” he concluded, “that we organise for the summer, so that it is no longer a season of emergency, but is more serene, opening with no expectation of further closures.”

Stressing the positive dialogue with the Minister, the President of the Region Donatella Tesei hoped “that he will soon come to Umbria to see for himself the uniqueness and beauty of our region, which make it a significant destination within the national tourism system. In addition to the Cammini, there are many other issues on which we intend to discuss with the Ministry,” added Tesei, “because Umbria is a land that has a great cultural, artistic and landscape heritage and excellent food and wine that are certainly very attractive, just as the region is very attractive in the area of religious tourism. We have worked in the midst of the pandemic to reason and reprogram the restart. I’m convinced that for Umbria, the tools we’ve put in place and the promotion we plan to present Umbria in its multiplicity of attractions can make the difference, and this is the only effective response to the crisis brought by Covid and which also affected this sector. We must reopen in safety,” concluded Tesei, “and here are the places and conditions to do so.”

“Today,” said Tourism Councillor Paola Agabiti, “we are presenting an organic package of measures designed to support the entire tourism sector, including the supply chains directly linked to it, in the hope that in the coming months we will be able to return to talking about tourism and not just the emergency aspects”. In illustrating the various instruments, Agabiti pointed out that “the first call for proposals, which is already operational, is aimed at hospitality businesses with the aim of supporting investments useful for the reopening of tourism businesses affected by the Covid-19 emergency. This call for applications, managed by Sviluppumbria, has a budget of 8 million euros, 1 million of which is reserved for the municipalities in the crater area. Applications can be submitted as of 28 April 2021. The second tool is the call for tenders for the support of companies in the tourism sector in the territories of the 2016 earthquake crater. It is aimed at businesses in the entire tourism sector (from commerce to services, sporting and creative enterprises and artistic craftsmanship) and is designed to support investments to strengthen, diversify and innovate service sector businesses.”

This call for proposals, with a budget of 1.05M€, will also be managed by Sviluppumbria. The call for proposals will be published by the end of April, and applications can be filled in and submitted from mid-May. The third instrument is the call for proposals for the support of incoming activities for investment, strengthening, diversification and innovation of travel agencies and tourism-related service companies with a budget of 1M€. It will be published at the beginning of May, and applications can be submitted that month.

“We have earmarked a budget of 1.6M€ to the call for municipalities to support the creation of territorial tourism products,” added Agabiti. “The fifth and last instrument is the notice for the creation of extracurricular traineeships in Umbria’s municipalities in the tourism and culture sectors. The initial budget is 500 thousand euros, and the activities will be managed by Arpal. The apprenticeships are open to unemployed persons registered with the Employment Centres of the Umbria Region who have reached the age of 18 or have fulfilled their right/duty to education and training. The last initiative we are presenting today,” continued the councillor, “is not only aimed at the tourism sector, but is the reopening of the notice for the granting of a one-off contribution of 1500€ to self-employed workers in the sectors affected by the pandemic, with a budget of 4.9M€. Compared to the measure already launched, new categories have been included, including tourist guides and travel agencies, as well as instructors and technicians in the world of sport with sports collaboration contracts and self-employed workers in the sectors related to entertainment and event organisation, leisure and recreational activities, artistic and traditional handicrafts, and other categories that have suffered from the restrictions implemented to deal with the pandemic. In addition to the tools I have just described, aimed at supporting tourism supply and services, we are also working on strengthening initiatives to increase and support tourism demand, including initiatives for a new branding strategy and new promotion and communication campaigns in the various media - as well as innovative digital supports and tools to promote the quality and use of services.”

“The activities of the tourism sector are very important for our region and Sviluppumbria’s involvement is not trivial,” said Sviluppumbria’s President Michela Sciurpa. “The intense work that we have developed between the Agency and the regional offices in recent months has put us in a position to play our full role of enabling the Region to implement its economic and therefore tourism policies. As an agency,” she continued, “we have increased flexibility, simplification and digitalisation in order to reduce the time to respond to requests, with the aim of relaunching our region and opening it up to incoming visitors and to the opportunities offered by tourism. Our commitment is to act as a link with the regional offices in order to find more appropriate solutions to meet the needs of the region. In the next few days,” concluded Sciurpa, “dedicated telephone numbers and e-mails will be activated, as well as a newsletter summarising the activities carried out with the aim of communicating directly with citizens and businesses and providing a necessary and comprehensive service.”

(Press release from Agenzia Umbrianotizie)