The Economy Ministry and CORFO launch a national reactivation support program for more than 2,000 tourism businesses

Economy, Development and Tourism Minister Nicolás Grau, officials from Chile’s Economic Development Agency CORFO and local authorities were in Valparaíso to announce the kick-off of the Chile Supports Tourism 2022 Program. This is a funding mechanism to stimulate the reactivation of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and comes about in the context of the “Chile Apoya” (Chile supports) inclusive recovery plan. The program is designed to finance training, business planning, consultancy, technical assistance, working capital and/or investment projects.

The Chile Supports Tourism 2022 Program will run in all 16 regions of the country and will finance 100% of the costs of tourism-related projects, up to a limit of 4 million Chilean pesos (around US$4,300), for companies who can accredit turnover of between UF 600 and UF 100,000. (A UF is an index-linked unit currently valued at around US$36). Exceptionally, this support scheme will also operate in the Juan Fernández islands, providing the same level of funding for MSMEs with a turnover of between UF 0.1 and UF100,000.

“The fund we are launching nationwide today, which is taking physical form here in the Valparaíso region, is very important, since tourism has been hit so hard by the pandemic and because the government has made an effort to support this sector in many different ways.  We invite everyone to apply. This is a fund run on a first-come-first-served basis, that is to say that the scheme will conclude once all the resources have been allocated,” said Minister Grau.

All the MSMEs who apply to the Chile Supports Tourism 2022 program must have formally commenced activities with the Internal Revenue Service (SII) and have paid first-category corporate income tax for at least one year prior to this call for applications.

“Here from CORFO’s Regional Directorate in Valparaíso, we would like to invite all the MSMEs in the tourism sector who are looking to contribute towards economic regeneration through project financing and who are considering training, business planning, consultancy, technical assistance, working capital or investment projects to participate in this call for applications,” announced the Director of CORFO Valparaíso, Etienne Choupay.

As of 3pm today, July 12, the Chile Supports Tourism 2022 Program is scheduled to open in the Valparaíso and Coquimbo regions. It will open in the Antofagasta, Metropolitan, O’Higgins, Ñuble, Bío-Bío, La Araucanía, Los Lagos and Aysen regions at 3pm this Wednesday, July 13. They will be followed by the Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá, Atacama, Maule and Magallanes regions at 3pm on Friday, July 15.

MSMEs who wish to apply to this scheme can do so by visiting the website www.corfo.cl. There they will find the terms and requirements to access this funding mechanism for the tourism sector.