Italy has published details of a new “holiday bonus” program, with low-income households receiving up to 500 euros ($560) each to get the country’s troubled tourism sector back on its feet.
The government said it had earmarked 2.4 billion euros for households earning less than 40,000 euros a year to get a financial incentive to vacation in Italy instead of going abroad.
The Italian tax authority said in a letter late Wednesday that the bonus would be €150 for individual households, €300 for couples and €500 for families with three or more people.
The bonus can be used to pay for holiday accommodation within Italy between July 1 and December 31.
Applicants receive a discount of 80 percent on the price of a hotel room, bed and breakfast or self-catering accommodation and can claim the other 20 percent against tax.
Tourism accounts for around 13 percent of Italy’s gross domestic product and the sector has been brought to its knees by the coronavirus pandemic, with industry experts projecting a shortfall in revenues of as much as 3.2 billion euros this summer.
Italy reopened its borders to tourists from the EU and from Schengen countries on June 3.
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