Additional aid of $13 million has been released by Quebec to help the province’s tourism industries recover after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This aid […] will provide them with concrete support and will allow them to engage with even more confidence in this very dynamic recovery period, ”said Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx in a press release on Wednesday.
Two measures will thus be renewed to lighten the tax burden of hotel establishments, outfitters and lodges.
Direct assistance of $7 million will serve as compensation established on the basis of the difference in the amount of the tax on lodging for the first quarter of 2021 compared to that of the previous year. Institutions will be able to have up to a maximum of $200,000.
Forgiveness on energy expenditure will also be reinstated as part of the Concerted Temporary Action Program for Businesses (PACTE), under the tourism component. It is therefore a support of $6 million for the companies concerned.
“We can feel a revival of activities, but the last two years of the pandemic have weakened hotel businesses and other types of tourist accommodation. Our industry badly needed this support,” said Véronyque Tremblay, President and CEO of the Association Hôtellerie Québec.
Remember that the Legault government has earmarked nearly $304 million for tourism recovery in its 2022-2023 budget.