Greece, where ancient ruins and modern paperwork go hand in hand, has decided to lavish €83.7 million on a fresh crop of new tourism SMEs. The plan is as straightforward as a Cycladic alley during siesta: pick the best of the bunch and hope they don’t fold by next summer. Here’s how it all played out:
- 6,669 grant proposals from would-be tourism barons
- 1,501 applications from Attica and South Aegean (those in the sunniest classrooms)
- 448 investment projects survived the bureaucratic maze
- €83,782,221.17: the precise amount that will flutter into local accounts
If you ever doubted whether the government can count, rest easy—they do it down to the last cent. The sheer poetry of €83,782,221.17 should not be lost on anyone.
Who Gets What, and Why Bother?
Officials say this windfall will strengthen tourism entrepreneurship and stretch Greece’s tourist season beyond its usual three-month flirtation. The logic is that if you build more hotels, someone might visit them. The funds target very small, small, and medium-sized tourism businesses—a fancy way of saying “neighborhood hotels and those weird catamaran tours grandma warns you about.”
Officials promise “internationally competitive services and products.” Translated: more places to buy ouzo, fewer quiet beaches. At least the intention is pure—boost jobs in tourism, fortify the sector, and keep Greece’s vacation industry from collapsing every October.
Miraculously, these 448 projects were not chosen by a dartboard. Each application received exhaustive scrutiny, suggesting someone had a lot of coffee and perhaps even more patience. Yet, 1,053 local dreams evaporated during the process. There’s always next time.
And for those holding their breath in the other Greek regions? Announcements are around the corner. The suspense is killing absolutely no one.
Numbers Recap:
- Total requests in Attica and South Aegean: 1,501 (only about 30% approved)
- National drama: 6,669 hopefuls, each with a business plan and, presumably, a cousin in the Ministry
- National requests for public funds: €276,277,002.99 (which includes the lucky 448’s €83.7 million slice)
If you find yourself in Attica or nodding off on a South Aegean beach chair, rest assured the next young tourism SME you meet may owe its existence to this very story. Just don’t look too closely—bureaucratic miracles fade in the harsh Greek summer light.