Applying for subsidies to organise 'congress tourism'

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Non residents

Last updated more than 5 years ago

Financial aid for congress tourism aims to encourage the organisation of congresses or similar events (seminars, conferences, etc.) in order to:

contribute to the promotion of Luxembourg as a prime destination for conferences;
increase local economic benefits.

They are granted by the General Directorate for Tourism in the Ministry of the Economy.

Who is concerned

Eligible businesses

The following can benefit from the subsidy scheme:

private associations;
public establishments;
international organisations or institutions.

Eligible events

The following events are eligible for financial aid:

congresses;
conferences;
seminars;
or any other similar event in a business context.

Prerequisites

Event size

In order to benefit from financial aid, the events have to fulfil all the following conditions:

there must be at least 75 participants;
there must be at least 75 overnight stays booked in the host hotels.

Place and accommodation

The event must take place in Luxembourg and participants from abroad must be accommodated in Luxembourg.

 Only 
 overnight stays in Luxembourg are taken into account for the calculation of financial aid.

Public image

Events whose content or theme is likely to have a negative impact on Luxembourg's image are ineligible.

Deadlines

Each application for financial aid for congress tourism must be submitted at the latest 6 weeks prior to the event.

Where the application is approved by the Ministry of the Economy, the organisers are invited to submit the following 3 months after the event at the latest:

an activity report;
a financial report;
a statement of registered overnight stays;
and the paid invoices for the tourism framework programme.

The final amount of financial aid is calculated and paid depending on the documents submitted.

How to proceed

Filing an application

Applicants must submit a duly completed application for financial aid for congress tourism (demande de subvention pour tourisme de congrès) to the General Directorate for Tourism at the Ministry of the Economy.

Applications must be accompanied by:

a presentation of the project with the following information:
- the organiser of the event;
- the event profile: concept, target audience, objectives, provisional programme, speakers, number of participants;
- descriptions and estimates:
  - economic benefits for the event destination;
  - impact on the sector in question (knowhow, networking, etc.);
  - media coverage and/or impact on Luxembourg's image;
the project's funding plan – i.e.:
- a detailed provisional budget setting out income and outgoings;
- co-financing measures, planned and/or granted.

Applications can only be approved within the limits of the budget.

Amount of financial support

Flat-rate aid per overnight stay for paid commercial accommodation in Luxembourg

A flat-rate aid of EUR 25 per registered overnight stay for paid commercial accommodation in Luxembourg will be granted to events taking place:

between 1 March and 14 July;
between 16 September and 31 December.

 The amount of aid is limited to 
 EUR 
 20,000.

In order to encourage congress tourism during off-peak periods in the year and to contribute to a better occupancy rate for conference venues and hotels, a flat-rate aid of EUR 35 per registered overnight stay in a Luxembourg hotel will be granted to events taking place:

between 15 July and 15 September;
between 1 January and 28 February.

The amount of aid is limited to EUR 25,000.

In order to encourage congresses in rural areas, a flat-rate aid of EUR 35 per registered overnight stay will be applied throughout the year irrespective of the season.

 The amount of aid is 
 limited to EUR 25,000.

Congresses that exceed 1,500 overnight stays in Luxembourg hotels may benefit from an additional flat-rate aid of EUR 10,000.

Aid through tourism framework programmes

Within the framework of tourism programmes, the following costs will be reimbursed up to a limit of 50 %:

costs for hiring certified tour guides;
transport expenses (e.g. bus hire).

The reimbursement of the costs is capped at EUR 2,500. This amount is included in the applicable aid ceiling of EUR 20,000 or EUR 25,000, and is not added to these amounts.

Maximum amount of aid

The total amount of aid can never exceed 25 % of the total costs incurred by the congress organiser.

Summary table

	Luxembourg City		Rural area
Event date	01/03-14.07 and 16.09-31.12	01/01-29/02 and 15/07-15/09	all year
Flat-rate aid per registered overnight stay for paid commercial accommodation in Luxembourg	EUR 25 per overnight stay maximum EUR 20,000	EUR 35 per overnight stay maximum EUR 25,000	EUR 35 per overnight stay maximum EUR 25,000
Aid through tourism framework programmes	50 % of true expenses for tour guides and transportation (maximum EUR 2,500)
Total amount of aid (A+B) is limited to:	EUR 20,000	EUR 25,000	EUR 25,000
Additional aid beyond 1,500 overnight stays	EUR 10,000	EUR 10,000	EUR 10,000
Maximum amount of aid	25 % of costs incurred	25 % of costs incurred	25 % of costs incurred