Tourism industry meeting at the Ministry of Development regarding SARS-CoV-2

As we informed in our last correspondence, yesterday, together with representatives of many associations, chambers and entities associating the broadly understood tourism industry (approximately 100 people), we participated in a meeting at the Ministry of Development devoted to assessment of the current situation in tourism caused by coronavirus.

Below is a brief summary of the meeting:

The focus was on on industry support proposals, the losses were not analyzed because they had been previously presented to the ministry in the form of letters, positions and diagnoses by various groups from the industry. We (WOT) also provided to the Deputy Minister of Gut Mostowy and the director of the tourism department, Mr. Rafał Szlacht "diagnosis of the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on tourism and the meetings industry in Warsaw", which we have prepared based on the information you sent us. Thank you once again for them!

Among the many proposals Support for entrepreneurs in the current situation includes:

  • Tax relief and ZUS (resignation from split payment (in the MICE tourism sector)):
    • acceleration of VAT refunds;
    • exemption from ZUS contributions for a specified period without suspending business activity.
    • Launching quickly available credit lines from ARP / BGK for a period of up to 5 years,
    • Exclusion of hotels from minimum tax
    • qualification of the costs of events cancelled in inbound tourism as tax costs.
  • Creating a coherent information policy government
  • Establishment of a working group, available for ministry work 24/7

In parallel, a 10-person team representing the MICE industry, hotels, tour operators, carriers, associations of guides and pilots, shipping and employers was appointed to work at the ministry, the work of which is coordinated by Mr. Bartosz Bieszyński – President of San Markos.

The meeting was led by Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz and Secretary of State Andrzej Gut-Mostowy. It was also attended by deputy ministers of the ministry, the management of the tourism department, as well as the deputy minister in the ministry of finance and a representative of the parliamentary subcommittee on tourism;

Today, after the meeting in the Council of Ministers, Minister J. Emilewicz will present information about  possible to implement aid package for the tourism industry.

Press releases following the conference organized immediately after the meeting are available below:

photo: press materials "Your Tourism"