To download the Incentive Scheme in pdf format please click here.
To download the Annex A in word format please click here.
To download the Annex B in excel format please click here.
To download the Annex C in word format please click here.
To download the Annex D in word format please click here.
INCENTIVE SCHEME TO SUPPORT CONFERENCE BIDDING AND SALES CALLS
TOWARDS THE ATTRACTION OF CONFERENCE AND INCENTIVE TOURISM TO CYPRUS
A. FINANCIAL SUPPORT IN THE CONTEXT OF EU RULES ON DE MINIMIS AID
This Scheme is being conducted by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation in accordance with the provisions of the Commission’s Regulation (EU) no. 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of the Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid.
De Minimis Aid refers to small amounts of state subsidies which are exempted from the obligation of being communicated to the European Commission, as they are considered as not affecting trade between Member States and/or as not distorting or threatening to distort competition within the European Union. The maximum total de minimis aid granted to any beneficiary single undertaking by all the Competent Authorities of the Republic over any period of three fiscal years may not exceed the amount of €200.000.
B. CATEGORIES OF TRIPS
Category A – Sales Calls
This involves making a trip abroad in order to conduct meetings with executives of companies / organisations holding positions of decision-making power with respect to the organization of conferences and incentive trips.
Category B – Bidding for the Hosting of Conferences
This involves making a trip abroad in order to bid for the hosting, in Cyprus, of conferences / meetings of non-profit regional, European or international organisations / associations or of educational / academic institutions..
C. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
Category A – Sales Calls
• Local licensed tourism and travel offices, which fulfil the minimum criteria of the Cyprus Convention Bureau and are included in the relevant list of such offices specializing in conference and incentive travel.
• Local licensed tourist accommodation establishments which fulfil the minimum criteria of the Cyprus Convention Bureau and are included in the relevant list of such accommodation offering conference facilities.
The aforementioned lists are posted on the official website of the CTO www.visitcyprus.com – Discover Cyprus – Cyprus Convention Bureau.
Category B – Bidding for the Hosting of Conferences
• Local non-profit organisations / associations.
• Local educational / academic institutions.
D. AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Category A – Sales Calls
With respect to trips abroad made towards the conduct of meetings with executives of companies / organisations holding positions of decision-making power with respect to the organization of conferences and incentive trips, the CTO will be covering 80% of the actual expenses incurred and up to a total maximum of €1.000, for only one of the two eligible expense subcategories listed below:
1. Expenditure for the purchase of an airline ticket (from and to Cyprus) in economy class and for hotel accommodation of up to 3 (three) nights for only one person, towards the conduct of sales calls.
Or
2. Expenditure for the hosting of a business lunch/dinner, against actual food and drink expenses incurred.
Category B – Bidding for the Hosting of Conferences
For the presentation of bids towards the organization, in Cyprus, of conferences / meetings of non-profit regional, European or international organisations / associations or of educational / academic institutions, the CTO will be covering 80% of the actual expenses incurred and up to a total maximum of €1.000, towards the purchase of an airline ticket (from and to Cyprus) in economy class and for hotel accommodation of up to 3 (three) nights of the person who will be presenting the relevant bid.
It is noted that for the purposes of this Scheme, the 80% of the hotel accommodation cost to be covered by CTO, for both of the above categories of trips, will be coming up to €150 per night.
E. CATEGORY – SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Category A – Sales Calls
1. A minimum number of 8 (eight) sales calls involving at least eight companies / organisations, must be made per trip abroad.
2. A minimum of 12 (twelve) companies / organisations must be participating in the business lunch/dinner to be hosted abroad.
3. A Sales Call is considered to be the meeting for which the applicant has sent out a relevant invitation to the prospective buyer and the latter has accepted the invitation and has confirmed the meeting.
4. A Business Lunch / Dinner is considered to be the lunch / dinner for which the applicant has sent out relevant invitations to the prospective buyers and the latter have accepted the invitation and have confirmed their participation in the business lunch / dinner.
5. The sales calls and the business lunches / dinners must be arranged with executives of companies / organisations holding positions of decision-making power with respect to the organization of conferences and incentive trips in regional, European or international associations, corporations, meetings and incentive agents, in academic and other institutions from abroad.
6. Every applicant may be eligible for financial support for up to a maximum of three sales calls trips per calendar year.
7. In case the application for financial support is approved, it is provided that the beneficiary agrees to grant a CTO Officer the right to participate in the sales calls and business lunches / dinners. The expenses of the CTO Officer will be borne by the CTO.
Category B – Bidding for the Hosting of Conferences
1. Towards the presentation of proposals for conference bids, an official letter duly completed and signed by the non-profit organization / association or the educational / academic institution from abroad which organizes the conference in question, must be submitted to the CTO. This letter must be confirming the acceptance of the bid proposal which has been submitted by the applicant and be providing all the information / data requested as per the sample letter (please refer to Worksheet 2 in Annex B).
2. Applicants must be registered either with the Registrar of Societies and Institutions or the Registrar of Companies of the Republic of Cyprus, depending on their capacity.
3. In case financial support is approved, it is understood that the beneficiary, beyond the financial support, may ask the CTO for technical support as well, as follows:
• Printed material and maps of the CTO.
• Audio-visual material.
• Official letter by the Cyprus Convention Bureau supporting the hosting of the conference in Cyprus.
• Where possible, the presence of CTO Officers at the conference bid presentation, whose expenses will be borne by the CTO.
• Consultation and advice services.
F. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Applications must be submitted to the CTO at least 1 (one) month before the relevant trip (please refer to Paragraph G).
2. The approval for the provision of financial support granted by CTO must be secured before the execution of the relevant trip.
3. In case the application for financial support is approved, it is provided that the beneficiary agrees to participate in the CTO’s survey towards the collection of statistical data concerning conference and incentive tourism, as per the relevant Questionnaire for the Collection of Statistical Data for Conference Tourism and Incentive Travel which will be sent out during the execution of the survey. Please click here to see a specimen of the questionnaire (only for informational purposes.) Relevant surveys conducted in the past are posted on CTO’s website at www.visitcyprus.com (links: Discover Cyprus – Cyprus Convention Bureau).
It is provided that any beneficiaries not participating in the process of collection of statistical data, are considered as not being interested in participating in the Incentive Schemes of the CTO and hence they will not be entitled to be applying to the CTO neither for financial support made available through its Incentive Schemes or other relevant to Conference and Incentive Tourism grants, nor for participation to invitations to tenders, commissioning or cooperation with the CTO relevant to the same field.
It is further provided that, in case of non-participation of the beneficiary in the statistical data collection process, the CTO reserves the absolute right to cancel the approved amount of financial support and / or to request the refund of any amount of financial support already paid by CTO.
4. In case the application for financial support is approved, the beneficiary may not apply for any other financial support from the CTO for the same action.
5. Applications submitted within the framework of this Scheme, will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis according to their date of submission to the CTO and until the exhaustion of the relevant credits in the annual CTO budget.
It is provided that, the CTO reserves the right to afford priority to the examination of applications submitted by applicants who have not previously benefited from this Scheme within the current year.
6. The CTO will be treating all documents and information received in relation to this Scheme as private and confidential and will not be publicizing or revealing any data submitted.
7. The applicants of this Scheme, accept fully and without any reservations all of its terms and conditions.
G. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS
Applications, together with the documents accompanying them as below, must be submitted at the e-mail address [email protected].
1. For trips abroad made for sales calls purposes (Category A), applicants must duly complete and submit the application in Annex A.
2. For trips abroad made towards the presentation of proposals for conference bids (Category B), applicants must submit:
(a) The application in Annex B, duly completed.
(b) The official letter by the non-profit organization / association or the educational / academic institution from abroad which organizes the conference in question, duly completed and signed. This letter must be confirming the acceptance of the bid proposal which has been submitted by the applicant and be providing all the information / data requested as per the sample letter.
3. The applicant must submit the De Minimis Statement attached herewith as Annex C, duly completed and signed.
Only applications which include all of the above documentation will be taken into consideration.
The responsibility for the confirmation of receipt of the submitted application lies solely with the applicant.
H. EVALUATION PROCEDURE
Following the receipt of an application by the CTO, it will be evaluated and the decision of the CTO will be officially communicated to the applicant within 15 (fifteen) working days from its date of receipt.
I. SUBMISSION OF ORDER FOR PRINTED MATERIAL OF THE CTO
Orders for printed material of the CTO (publications, maps and bags) must be timely placed by the applicant to the competent CTO Officer Mr. Savvas Andreou: tel (00 357) 22 69 11 85, e-mail [email protected] mentioning the titles of the brochures, the quantity and the language desired. Click here to view a list of the publications available online οn www.visitcyprus.com – Media.
The applicant is responsible for collecting the order from CTO’s Warehouse (Alexandrou Ypsilanti Str. No.1, CY2234 Latsia, Nicosia), having first been notified accordingly by phone, by the CTO. Should the applicant request the delivery of the order by courier, then the cost of such delivery will be borne by the applicant.
J. REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION FOR THE PAYMENT OF THE APPROVED AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT ON THE BASIS OF ACTUAL EXPENSES INCURRED
All the claims for the payment of the amount of financial support must be received by the CTO one month following the completion of the trip, at the latest. Any delay leads to the loss of the financial support.
After the completion of the trip the following documentation must be submitted to the CTO by e-mail:
CATEGORY A – SALES CALLS 1. A letter from the beneficiary on the company’s official letterhead which will include a brief report on the outcome of every sales call organized during the trip. Correspondingly, in the case of the hosting of a professional lunch / dinner, the letter must include a brief report on the results of the above event (contacts made, promotion conducted etc.). With this letter, the beneficiary must also be requesting from the CTO the payment of the financial support against actual expenses incurred.
2. Submission of the final account of sales calls conducted abroad, containing all the communication details for every sales call. Correspondingly, in the case of a professional dinner, the final list of participants with their full contact details must be submitted.
3. Depending on the expenditure approved for financial support, the submission of copies of invoices and payment receipts for the purchase of airline ticket, hotel accommodation and the professional lunch / dinner is required. The copies of invoices and payment receipts for the professional lunch / dinner must be analytical and be stating the number of persons charged. All the aforementioned documentation must be issued to the name of the beneficiary.
4. The Personal Declaration duly signed by the beneficiary (Annex D).
CATEGORY B – BIDDING FOR THE HOSTING OF CONFERENCES
1. A letter from the beneficiary on the company’s official letterhead which will include:
(a) General comments on the presentation of the bidding proposal for the hosting of the conference in Cyprus.
(b) The outcome of the bid submitted.
(c) A request for the payment of the financial support against actual expenses incurred.
2. Copies of invoices and payment receipts for the purchase of airline ticket and hotel accommodation must be submitted. All the aforementioned documentation must be issued to the name of the beneficiary.
3. The Personal Declaration duly signed by the beneficiary (Annex D).
The amount of financial support will be paid to the beneficiary only after all the aforementioned documentation has been submitted and pursuant to the compliance with all the terms and conditions of the Scheme.
In the case where the required documentation submitted is not complete, the payment procedure shall be discontinued.
The CTO reserves the right to further examine the documentation submitted and to request additional clarifications and / or the submission of additional data and documentation.
It is provided that, in case the CTO has found any documentation submitted by the beneficiaries to be false or that not all of the terms and conditions of this Incentive Scheme have been met, the CTO reserves the absolute right to cancel the approved amount of subsidy and / or to request the refund of any amount already paid by CTO.
It is also provided that in the above case, in addition to any other penalties imposed by CTO, offenders will be excluded from any participation in the CTO’s subsidy schemes as well as any other subsidies, invitations, commissions or cooperation with the CTO, relevant to Conference and Incentive Tourism.
K. VALIDITY OF THE SCHEME
This Scheme will have an annual validity, up to the 31st of December of every year or until the exhaustion of the relevant credits in the CTO budget. It will be automatically renewed for every next year, unless the CTO decides otherwise.
This Scheme may be altered without any notice. For information, please refer to the website of the CTO www.visitcyprus.com (links: Discover Cyprus – Cyprus Convention Bureau).
L. FURTHER INFORMATION
CTO Headquarters
Christodoulos Papachristodoulou
Tourist Officer
[email protected]
Tel: (00 357) 22 69 13 05
Cyprus Tourism Organisation
Limassol Avenue 19, CY2112 Nicosia
P.O.Box 24535, CY1390 Nicosia
Tel: (00 357) 22 69 11 00
Fax: (00 357) 22 69 13 13
The English version is a translation of the original in Greek (www.visitcyprus.com) for information purposes only. In case of a discrepancy, the Greek original will prevail.
