Deputy PM reaffirms help for Polish ski resorts hit by virus curbs

Poland’s government will offer hundreds of millions in extra aid to ski resorts hit by coronavirus curbs amid a second wave of the pandemic, a deputy prime minister reaffirmed on Monday.

A closed ski lift in the Tatra mountain resort of Zakopane, southern Poland, at the end of last month.

Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Momot

Help will include compensation for uncollected taxes and a special stimulus package for more than 200 communities in the south of the country that derive the bulk of their revenue from tourism, Deputy Prime Minister and Development Minister Jarosław Gowin said at a news conference.

Gminy położone na terenach górskich będą mogły skorzystać z dwóch instrumentach wsparcia: ✅w postaci 80% rekompensat za zwolnienie podatku od nieruchomości, ✅wynikającego z ich wydatków na inwestycje w 2016-2020 - premier @Jaroslaw_Gowin #PlandlaPracyiRozwoju @michaldworczyk pic.twitter.com/5WDRpA899J

— Ministerstwo Rozwoju, Pracy i Technologii (@MRPiT_GOV_PL) January 11, 2021

The announcement was made after Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at the end of last month pledged a support package worth up to PLN 1 billion (EUR 220 million, USD 270 million) for areas in the south of the country affected by a ban on winter tourism amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The measure, referred to as a "Regional Shield," aims to support ski resorts from Ustrzyki Górne in the southeast all the way to Szklarska Poręba in the southwest, according to government officials.

Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

The package is expected to help protect jobs after businesses including hotels and ski slopes were told to close to the general public at the end of last month.

Przygotowaliśmy wsparcie dla ponad 200 gmin położonych na terenach górskich - 1 mld zł z Rządowego Funduszu Inwestycji Lokalnych. Środki te trafią do przedsiębiorców i całej społeczności gmin - premier @Jaroslaw_Gowin #PlandlaPracyiRozwoju @michaldworczyk @KPRM_CIR pic.twitter.com/X4feYYvJ2g

— Ministerstwo Rozwoju, Pracy i Technologii (@MRPiT_GOV_PL) January 11, 2021

Poland on December 28 went into a three-week "national quarantine" as it stepped up its efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

On Monday, Health Minister Adam Niedzielski announced that most coronavirus restrictions in the country would be extended until at least January 31 as the pandemic persisted.

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Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info