Cabinet approved a €5 million grant scheme for the operation of medical facilities for independent assisted living in any licenced tourist accommodation and hotels on Thursday. The aim of the scheme is to attract all-year health and wellness tourists and to make them accessible and appealing to people with any form of disability, Health Minister Popi Kanari, who is deputising for the Deputy Minister of Tourism said after the decision was announced. Eligible businesses can secure a grant amount depending on their size and geographical area, the minister explained.

The total amount of the grant scheme, Dr Kanari noted, amounts to €5 million and will be in force for a period of three years (2023-2026). The scheme is based on two regulations, the De Minimis and the General Exemption Regulation. The maximum amount of subsidy, she added, regardless of the size of the business, small, medium or large, will be €200,000 per single business over a period of three years, subject to the provisions of the De Minimis regulation. In mountainous and remote areas, the subsidy rate will be in the range of 75 per cent of the total expenditure, in rural areas it will be in the range of 65 per cent and in other areas it will be in the range of 50 per cent.

With regard to the General Exemption Regulation, potential beneficiaries will be only small and medium-sized enterprises, the maximum grant amount is €1 million and the maximum grant amount will be up to 20 per cent. The project, Kanari said, will be announced immediately with its publication in the official government gazette.