On Tuesday 30 March, the European Commission approved a €400 million Dutch loan scheme (known as the ‘Voucherfonds’) to support businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic that normally provide package tours and related services. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework.
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, companies offering package tours and travel services in the Netherlands and other Member States have issued vouchers (‘corona vouchers’) to consumers whose package tours have had to be cancelled.
Because of the ongoing impact of the pandemic, it has not been possible for a lot of these ‘corona vouchers’ to be redeemed for a new package tour at a later date. The purpose of the loan scheme is to allow beneficiaries to offer consumers a cash refund equal to the value of the corona voucher, if they request one. The scheme, which will apply throughout the Netherlands and will be available to companies of all sizes, will be managed by the Stichting Garantiefonds Reisgelden (SGR).
Under the scheme, beneficiaries will be eligible for a loan covering up to 80% of their outstanding corona vouchers, up to a maximum amount of €50 million per beneficiary.
The loans must be used exclusively for refunding customers for their ‘corona vouchers’. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)