Incentive Scheme for supporting prospective conference and incentive trip customers towards the execution of inspection visits

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 word 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 FOR SUPPORTING PROSPECTIVE CONFERENCE AND INCENTIVE TRIP CUSTOMERS
TOWARDS THE EXECUTION OF INSPECTION VISITS

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 not distorting or threatening to distort competition within the European Union. The maximum total de minimis aid granted to any 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. OBJECTIVE OF THE SCHEME

The objective of the Scheme is the targeted promotion of the upgraded special product of conference and incentive tourism through the provision of hospitality to prospective conference tourism customers in Cyprus towards the inspection of the conferences infrastructure and the destination in general, as well as the acquaintance with Cypriot professionals in this field.

C. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Local licensed travel and tourism offices which fulfill the minimum criteria of the Cyprus Convention Bureau (Destination Management Companies – DMC’s).

These offices are included in the catalogue which is posted on the official Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) website www.visitcyprus.com (links: Discover Cyprus – Cyprus Convention Bureau).

D. AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT

The amount of financial support for every inspection visit covers 80% of the trip cost with a maximum of €500 against the actual economy class airfare paid. In the case more than one person participate in the inspection visit, the total amount of financial support may not exceed €500.

E. TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. The prospective customers of the applicants to the Scheme, must be holding positions of decision-making power towards the organization of meetings, conferences, incentive trips and events relevant to conference and incentive tourism in international, European and regional associations and organizations, of companies (private or public), of academic and other institutions, of Incentive Houses and Conference and Incentive Agents.

2. Applications admissible for consideration will be the ones for which the prospective customer has already requested a relevant tender from the applicant. Therefore, all applications must be accompanied by a relevant Letter of Confirmation based on the template (please refer to Annex B), which must be completed by the prospective customer and submitted directly to CTO by e-mail at [email protected] at the prospective customer’s responsibility.

3. The proposed conference, meeting, incentive trip or event must involve more than 30 participants from abroad.

4. It is noted that for every application, financial support will be offered to no more than one inspection visit towards the organization of the proposed conference, meeting, incentive trip or event.

5. The application must be submitted at least one month before the execution of the relevant inspection visit (please refer to Paragraph F).

6. The approval of the financial support to be granted, must be secured from the CTO before the execution of the relevant inspection visit to Cyprus.

7. In case the application for financial support is approved, the beneficiary must grant a CTO Officer the right to participate in the inspection visit to Cyprus. The expenses involved in the participation of the CTO Officer in the relevant inspection visit, will be borne by the CTO.

8. 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.

9. Every perspective client / company is allowed to apply for one inspection visit per year.

10. In case the application for financial support under this Scheme is approved, the action in question is not eligible for any other financial support from the CTO.

11. Applications for financial support 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 allocated funds in the Annual Budget of the CTO.

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 year.

12. 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.

13. The applicants and / or beneficiaries of this Scheme, accept without any reservations all of its terms and conditions.

F. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

1. Eligible applicants must submit the relevant application in Annex A, duly completed, at the e-mail address [email protected] at least one month prior to the arrival date of the prospective customer.

2. The completed application must be accompanied by the relevant Letter of Confirmation duly completed by the prospective customer, based on the sample Letter of Confirmation in Annex B. In accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme as mentioned above, the Letter of Confirmation must also be submitted by the prospective customer directly to CTO by e-mail at [email protected] (please refer to paragraph E.2.).

3. The programme of the inspection visit to be followed, with every relevant details, must also be submitted.

4. The De Minimis Statement (Annex C) must also be duly completed, signed and submitted with the application.

Only applications that are duly completed and accompanied by all the relevant documentation mentioned above, will be taken into consideration.

The responsibility for the confirmation of receipt of the submitted application lies solely with the applicant.

G. EVALUATION PROCEDURE

Following the receipt of the 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 the date of receipt of the application.

H. DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR THE PAYMENT OF THE APPROVED AMOUNT FOR THE PROVISION OF HOSPITALITY AGAINST 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 inspection visit, at the latest. Any delay leads to the loss of the financial support.

Following the completion of the inspection visit, the following documentation will have to be submitted by the applicant to the CTO by e-mail:

1. A letter from the beneficiary on official letterhead, including:

a. A brief report on the outcome of the inspection visit conducted (impressions on the destination, evaluation of whether the destination satisfies the requirements of the proposed conference, meeting, incentive trip or conference tourism event intended to be hosted, suggestions and recommendations on the product, any problems which may have arisen).

b. Request for the payment of the financial support against actual expenses incurred.

2. The final rooming list of the prospective customers which have been approved for the provision of financial support within the framework of the inspection visit which was conducted, as printed from the reservation system of the hotel/s of stay.

3. Copies of the invoice and the payment of the airline ticket and relevant receipt. All the documents to be submitted must have been issued on the name of the applicant.

4. The Personal Declaration in Annex D duly signed by the beneficiary.

The amount of the financial support will be paid to the beneficiaries only after all the aforementioned documentation has been submitted and pursuant to the compliance with the terms and conditions of this Incentive Scheme.

In case the required documentation submitted is not complete, the payment procedure will be discontinued.

The CTO reserves the right to further examine the documentation submitted and to request any additional information and/or the submission of additional documentation and data.

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.

I. 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 – Discover Cyprus – Cyprus Convention Bureau.

J. 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.biz) for information purposes only. In case of a discrepancy, the Greek original will prevail.