>@EIB/BMWFW - Georges Schneider

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is supporting Austria’s tourism sector with a EUR 150 million loan. A contract for the first instalment of EUR 63 million has just been signed by the EIB and the Österreichische Hotel und Tourismusbank GmbH (ÖHT). The funds are principally intended to finance the investment projects of small and medium-sized tourism companies (SMEs) in Austria.

Tourism is one of Austria’s most labour intensive sectors, so investment projects often create a substantial number of jobs. The sector is almost exclusively made up of small and medium-sized companies – frequently family-run businesses. And owing to its overall economic importance to Austria, the tourism and leisure industry is particularly reliant on reliable long-term financing on favourable terms.

With its long-term loans on advantageous terms, the EIB is an ideal financing partner for ÖHT, the Austrian tourism sector’s central promotional and financial institute. As ÖHT is required to match the EIB funds with at least the same amount when onlending to SMEs, the EUR 150 million loan now made available will leverage substantially higher investment. In tandem with the EUR 250 million guarantee of the Republic of Austria already provided, after successful deployment of the first EUR 150 million the EIB will probably increase the credit facility to a total of EUR 250 million in the years ahead.

For EIB Vice-President Wilhelm Molterer, the sector’s importance was decisive for granting the loan: “Tourism is not only a key sector for Austria, it has also proven to be particularly robust and fast-growing during the crisis. Small and medium-sized businesses play an outstanding role in creating and safeguarding jobs. But obtaining long-term finance on the capital markets still remains a challenge for many companies. Together with our long-standing partner ÖHT, we will continue to provide loans that meet businesses’ actual financing needs going forward.”

The EIB channels more than a third of its overall lending into support for SMEs and midcaps (companies with up to 3000 employees), now making SME financing one of the EU bank’s most important tasks. And this commitment is set to increase even further under Commission President  Jean-Claude Juncker’s  recently presented Investment Plan for Europe.