The initiative aims to strengthen tourism entrepreneurship through the creation of new micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanasis, has increased the budget for the call for applications for funding under the measure “Enhancing the establishment and operation of new small and medium-sized tourism enterprises” of the NSRF 2021–2027 “Competitiveness” programme.
Specifically, the available budget is increasing by 250 million euros, and the additional resources have been made available in response to the extremely high-quality proposals submitted. The funding will now cover more than 68% of the proposals.
It is noted that, prior to the increase, 3,313 investment projects with a total budget of 1.09 billion euros were subsidised; this figure is expected to rise to over 4,600 investment projects, with the total budget approaching 1.6 billion euros. It is emphasised that 6,669 applications for relevant funding have been submitted across the country.
The initiative aims to strengthen tourism entrepreneurship through the creation of new micro, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in selected tourism activity codes (KAD), encouraging the creation of new businesses, which, in addition to helping to increase the capacity of the Greek tourism industry, will offer high-quality and reliable services and will contribute to the enrichment of the tourism product, as well as to increasing employment.
The eligible budget for the investment project ranges from 80,000 to 400,000 euros. The percentage of support for funding applications is the same for all eligible costs of investment projects and amounts to 45% of the subsidised budget.
The percentage of the subsidy may be increased by 10% if the investment is made in a remote area, on small islands, or in an area affected by fire, earthquake-stricken or flooded area; or by a further 5%, provided that, when submitting the funding application, a declaration is made stating an employment target of at least 0.2 EMU in the first year following the completion of the investment.
The beneficiaries of the programme are newly established and very small, small and medium-sized enterprises, which are or will be active in the tourism sector.
Specifically:
Category A. Businesses currently being set up. Businesses that will be established between the date of publication of the call for applications and the first disbursement of the grant, and which will operate exclusively in eligible KAD sectors throughout the implementation of the investment plan and until the investment has been repaid.
Category B. Newly established. The term ‘newly established’ refers to businesses that have not yet been in continuous operation for 12 months (twelve months have not elapsed from the date the business was registered with the AADE up to the date of the announcement of the measure).
It is clarified that enterprises must have the investment KAD prior to the first disbursement. For the purposes of drawing up the budget for the investment projects to be financed under the scheme, the following basic categories of eligible expenditure are: buildings, facilities and surrounding areas, machinery and equipment, digital equipment, software and software services.
In addition, expenses are covered for:
– Certification of quality assurance systems and environmental management in accordance with national and harmonised standards, and – Promotion, outreach and internationalisation.
– Means of transport.
– Studies and consultancy services, as well as other European and international standards.
– Indirect costs.
Increase in passenger numbers and flights at “El. Venizelos”
Passenger traffic at Athens airport increased in December 2025, confirming the positive trend seen throughout the year. Specifically, according to preliminary data from Athens International Airport (AIA), total passenger traffic in December stood at 2.31 million passengers, an increase of 8.4% compared with the same month in 2024.
Both domestic and international passenger traffic recorded an increase, with domestic passenger traffic rising by 5.5% to 628 thousand passengers, whilst international passenger traffic increased by 9.6%, reaching 1.68 million passengers. On an annual basis, 2025 was another year of strong growth for Athens Airport. Total passenger traffic amounted to 33.99 million passengers, an increase of 6.7% compared with 2024.
Aircraft movements were also on the rise. In December 2025, a total of 19,476 flights were operated, an increase of 6.5% compared with December 2024.
Domestic flights increased by 4.2% and international flights by 7.7%. Overall, for 2025, the number of flights at “Eleftherios Venizelos” totalled 283,589, representing an annual increase of 5.7%. International flights increased by 8.7%, whilst domestic flights increased by 1.3%.
Source: vradini.gr