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In a move aimed at promoting investments in the tourism sector, the government has approved a significant decision to ease conditions for investors seeking special status for their investments in 4 or 5-star accommodation structures. The recent decision, ratified this Wednesday, stipulates that investors with special status, who are required to have an investment value of 8 million euros and 15 million euros according to the category in which they invest, are no longer obligated to submit documents regarding the management of similar structures in the past, Monitor reports.
Under the previous decision, the government had imposed conditions such as:
If applying for special status for 4 stars, they must have invested in the construction and/or management of at least 5 accommodation structures in the tourism sector, licensed with 4 or 5 stars by competent authorities for licensing in the countries where the accommodation structures are located. Similarly, if applying for special status for 5 stars, they must have built and/or managed at least 5 accommodation structures in the tourism sector, licensed with 5 stars by competent authorities for licensing in the countries where the accommodation structures are located.
These accommodation structures are directly owned by the applicant and/or managing operator or are administered by them through management contracts, leases, franchising contracts, or similar agreements.
The accommodation structures are located in at least 3 countries of the European Union; or In cases where the accommodation structures are not located in at least 3 countries of the European Union, the applicant must have invested in the construction and/or management of at least 8 accommodation structures in the tourism sector, licensed with 4 or 5 stars (as applicable) by competent authorities for licensing in the countries where the accommodation structures are located, which are located in international tourism destinations.
In the new decision, these conditions are no longer applicable but have been summarized in point (a), which reformulates that the structure to be built by the investor must be "managed by a managing operator, registered as a trademark or internationally recognized 'brand name' with 4 and/or 5 stars, by competent authorities of the countries where they are located, linked to the applicant through a valid agreement during the duration of the status."
Guarantee for the agreement is facilitated
All investors who manage to obtain the status, subsequently linking an agreement for the development of the project, must pay a guarantee. Earlier, under the old decision, the guarantee was at the level of 10 percent of the investment value.
"The security of the agreement is made as follows: a) For 4-star hotels, 10% of the value of 8 million euros (800 thousand euros); and b) For 5-star hotels, 10% of the value of 15 million euros (1.5 million euros)," stated in the old Council of Ministers Decision of 2018.
In the new decision, the government sanctions that "The security of the agreement is made as follows: a) For 4-star hotels, for the value of 240 thousand euros (3% of the value for 4-star hotels from 8 million euros); b) For 5-star hotels, for the value of 450 thousand euros (3% of the value for 5-star hotels from 15 million euros)."