THE SMALL TOURISM BUSINESS ASSISTANCE PROJECT BY CANADA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (CED): FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR INDIGENOUS BUSINESSES BY MARCH 31, 2023

On January 11, Indigenous Tourism Quebec (ITQ) took part in the press conference where it was announced that a sum of $40 million in investments will be granted to the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ) and the Réseau des SADC[1]  et CAE[2] as part of the Small Tourism Business Assistance Project of the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF). This tourism recovery assistance project aims to allocate non-refundable contributions to small Indigenous and non-Indigenous tourism businesses by March 31, 2023. CED's financial assistance will make it possible for these businesses to implement investment projects for adapting or developing their products and services to meet customer needs.

Indigenous Tourism Quebec (ITQ) is partnering with the FCCQ and the Réseau des SADC et CAE to ensure greater accessibility for projects from Indigenous tourism businesses in Quebec. The ITQ team will therefore encourage the contribution of Indigenous people towards this recovery initiative in various ways. As a first step, we strongly encourage you to initiate or continue your discussions and business relationships with the chambers of commerce and SADC/CAE that have already reached out to you, so that you can submit your projects as soon as possible. If you haven't yet been contacted by a chamber of commerce or SADC/CAE, we invite you to reach out to us as soon as possible, so that we can assist you with the application process while ensuring adherence to the eligibility criteria and deadlines.

It should be noted that the sums allocated to the Tourism Relief Fund offered by ITQ since April 2022 have all been distributed since last November. This is therefore a last call for businesses to benefit from this fund. For the current TRF, ITQ acts as a facilitative partner and does not handle any specific funding allocation.

The Small Tourism Business Assistance Project provides non-refundable contributions of up to $45,000 per business, depending on available funds and the popularity of the assistance project by region. These contributions are intended to support small tourism businesses in implementing investment projects for adapting or developing their products and services to meet customer needs in view of supporting development, improving experiences and seizing recovery opportunities.

 

Tourism businesses that are eligible for funding

  • You must have a turnover of up to $1.5M and be able to demonstrate how the support that will be granted to you will allow you to maintain operations, improve your experience offer and ensure business viability.
  • You must also demonstrate that the support is complementary to other funding sources of the presented project, if any.
  • You cannot have already received funding from the Tourism Relief Fund program via the Canada Economic Development Agency or another organization other than ITQ for the same project.
  • You should be prepared to provide the required financial data and documents for the assessment of your financial assistance application.
  • Tourism businesses must belong to these sectors: arts, entertainment and recreation, accommodation services, travel and reservation services, tourist and leisure transportation, catering services, etc.

 

Eligible expenses

  • Infrastructure
  • Renovations
  • Equipment acquisitions
  • Digital enhancements

 

Important dates

The eligible funding period is until March 31, 2023. Business expenses must have been incurred between October 18, 2022 and March 31, 2023.

 

How to submit your application?

The Indigenous tourism business must use the financial assistance application form provided for this purpose and meet all the program criteria and obligations. In some cases, ITQ may assist Indigenous tourism businesses with their application.

 

For any additional information, you can contact Indigenous Tourism Quebec:

Marie-Pierre Lainé, Development and Partnership Coordinator
[email protected]
418-717-6780

For further details about the Small Tourism Businesses Assistance Project by the FCCQ and the Réseau des SADC/CAE: https://relancetouristique.ca

Read the press release of January 11, 2023: https://www1.fccq.ca/la-fccq-et-le-reseau-des-sadc-et-cae-obtiennent-40-m-pour-aider-les-petites-entreprises-touristiques-a-saisir-les-opportunites-de-la-relance

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Sociétés d’aide au développement des collectivités

[2] Centres d’aide aux entreprises

CALL FOR PROJECTS CLOSED!
This support program for the development of the offer is made possible by Tourisme Québec.

CALL OF PROJECTS CLOSED FOR INDIGENOUS ENTREPRISES!

November 18, 2002 : ITQ has exhausted the funds of this project.

If you have already submitted a project tho this funds or for any questions about the program, please contact ITQ Development Advisors, Émilie Mckenzie ([email protected]) | 581-397-4511 or Pierre Kanapé ([email protected]) | 418 446-2870.

This call for projects was made possible by CED’s Tourism Relief Fund.