Social Tourism for Pensioners e EFKA (former OAEE)

TOURIST ACCOMMODATION PROVIDERS

The program is aimed at the following tourist accommodations:

• hotels of all functional forms and classes (classic type hotels, furnished apartment type, traditional accommodations)
• rooms for rent / apartments five (5), four (4), three (3), two (2) keys and unclassified
• tourist furnished houses-villas (self-catering accommodation)
• organized tourist camps (camping)

which

• meet all the technical and functional specifications provided by the current legislation, depending on their category and
• have a separate bathroom inside the rooms , individual or central cooling - heating system depending on their operating periods, refrigerator and television (not required for organized camps)
• and have direct access to a computer and electronic scanner as well as the Internet

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM

• an online application for participation is submitted every year on the dates defined in the Public Invitation
• the providers who meet the conditions and have submitted the necessary supporting documents defined in the Public Invitation are recorded in a table, the "Register of Providers"
• after the inclusion of the providers in the Registry, on-site checks are followed by the competent Services of the Greek Publiv Employment Service on the basis of which the process of their inclusion in the program is completed

FERRY TICKET PROVIDERS

These are the natural or legal persons or legal entities that, in accordance with the current legislation, carry out maritime cabotage with scheduled passenger ships and use an electronic system for reserving seats and issuing passenger tickets. A necessary condition for participation in the Program is the issuance of a special category Social Tourism ticket. Providers participate in the program by offering all their itineraries.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM

• an online application for participation is submitted each year on the dates specified in the Public Call.
• providers who meet the conditions and have submitted the necessary supporting documents set out in the Public Call are recorded in a table, the "Register of Ferry Ticket Providers"

Tourist Accommodation Providers

The tourist accommodation providers are obliged to:

• observe the health protocols of the National Health Division
• accept beneficiaries - subsidyed members, holders of Social Tourism Vouchers from the beginning of the program and until its end
• accept beneficiaries of the Program in all departments of their unit throughout the period of their operation, without excluding any intermediate period, and up to the capacity limit
• have at least 30% of the total capacity of their beds during the summer and holidays, as long as it has been previously booked by the beneficiaries
• have - depending on the technical specifications provided for the accommodation category - free of charge for both the beneficiaries and the Greek Public Employment Service's rooms with an individual or central cooling/heating system (depending on their period of operation), with a private bathroom, refrigerator and television
• not to have any defective rooms (underground, indoor, without sufficient lighting or ventilation, etc.)
• not to rent the living room area of the apartment to beneficiaries - subsidyed members, as well as to rent hotel apartments, of the furnished apartments and the rented furnished apartments by room
• offer without compensation or remuneration to the beneficiaries all the services that they are obliged to provide to third parties according to the relevant provisions
• clean the rooms and change their clothes (towels, sheets, etc.) in accordance with the provisions of the Tourism Legislation
• provide the beneficiaries - subsidyed members, if they have a relevant permit, the same breakfast as they offer to the other customers of the accommodation, with a composition in accordance with the applicable market regulations. The provision of breakfast or not is agreed between the beneficiary and the provider in the contract according to thebeneficiary's preference.

Terms concerning the ferry tickets

• providers must observe the health protocols of the National Health Division when transporting passengers
• social Tourism vouchers can be issued for dates of use from the start of the program and until its end
• the Greek Public Employment Service is not involved in issues of reservations or compensation of the beneficiaries or providers for any reason (e.g. compensation of the beneficiary for cancellation of a ticket due to the cancellation of a route)
• it is not possible to use the Ferry Travel Voucher to go to a destination that is not related to the accommodation in a place of the Register of Providers and for the same period of arrival in it. Any violation of this condition does not bring any financial consequence to the provider, but to the beneficiary, who must return to the Greek Public Employment Service the amount of the subsidy. Compliance with this obligation of the beneficiaries is controlled exclusively by the competent Services of the Greek Public Employment Service and not by the providers
• the providers must issue Social Tourism vouchers for all the domestic routes they operate, as long as there are seats available, without discriminatory treatment to the detriment of the beneficiaries / subsidying members of the program.

The "Social Tourism Voucher"

is a unique electronic number for each beneficiary citizen and for each beneficiary member thereof, which is automatically generated by the Integrated Information System (ISIS) of the Greek Public Employment Service

• incorporates a specific economic value that constitutes the subsidy of the beneficiary and the of its beneficiary members for their stay in a tourist accommodation and their ferry transfer to it (when required)
• does not exist in a printed form from the Greek Public Employment Service for tourist accommodation. Its existence is verified by the providers by logging into the electronic services of the Greek Public Employment Service and the entry of the beneficiary's VAT number or social security number
• is available in paper form and must be printed for the ferry tickets to be shown for issuing the tivket. It cannot be used to travel to a destination other than the one where the tourist accommodation is located.
• applies only from start date to the end date of the specific program under which it was issued.

The subsidy paid by the Greek Public Employment Service is included in the Social Tourism Voucher

The Public Invitation defines the subsidy prices per beneficiary - beneficiary member and per overnight stay depending on the area, type and category of accommodation.

Beneficiaries must pay the providers an amount of private participation which is agreed with the provider. The amount of private participation must not exceed specific ceilings set in the Public Challenge. Beneficiaries who choose for their holidays accommodation on the islands of Lesvos, Leros, Samos, Chios and Kos, the Prefecture of Evros, the Municipalities of Istiaia - Edipsos and Mantoudi - Limni - Ag. Annas of the prefecture of Evia are not required to pay a private participation amount.

A necessary condition for the payment of the subsidy is the conclusion of a private agreement in accordance with the terms of the Public Invitation and the activation of the checks of the beneficiaries and their beneficiaries, which is done through the electronic services by entering the dates of arrival and departure, attaching the private agreement and every required document receipts, invoices).

For the repayment of the program, the providers submit electronic applications and supporting documents at specific time intervals, as defined in the Public Invitation, to the competent service based on the headquarters of the companies.

In order to be reimbursed, the providers of ferry tickets who issued Social Tourism tickets in accordance with the terms of the relevant Public Invitation, submit an electronic application with attached supporting documentation to the KPA2 responsible for their business headquarters.

Beneficiaries - subsidying members who hold Social Tourism Vouchers contact the providers directly for room reservations.

The providers cannot accept under the program beneficiaries whose place of residence is in the same Regional Unit as their accommodation, except for specific exceptions.

Providers may accept beneficiary members in the accommodation, unaccompanied by the beneficiary citizen, provided that they:

• are children aged 18 - 24 years old,
• are spouses of beneficiaries,
• are children aged 5 - 18 years old accompanied by the spouse of the beneficiary citizen (beneficiary member or not)

the contract is signed by the beneficiaries or by the beneficiary children aged 18-24 or the spouses of the beneficiaries (beneficiary members or not) with the legal authorization of the beneficiaries

They cannot take a separate holiday:

• the disabled companions without the accompanying disabled person,
• children aged 5 to 18 without the beneficiaries or their spouses (beneficiary members or not).

Upon the arrival of the beneficiaries - beneficiary members at the accommodation, their identity details are checked by the provider and then a private agreement is signed between them.

Finally, the provider through the electronic services of the Greek Public Employment Service activates the Checks of the beneficiaries - subsidyed members, entering the dates of arrival and departure and attaching the signed private agreement

Early departure

In the event that, after signing the contract, the beneficiary wishes for any reason to leave the accommodation before the date provided for in the contract, i.e. before spending the number of nights agreed with the provider:

The beneficiary completes a Responsible Declaration considered for the genuineness of the signature or issued by the digital portal of the Government www.gov.gr with the date of his early departure from the accommodation and submits one to the provider and the other electronically to the Service (KPA2) of the Greek Public Employment Service, where it belongs.

The provider through the online services and before the departure of the beneficiary (checkout) or at the same time, informs about the date of early departure, transmitting electronically a copy of the Solemn Statement submitted by the beneficiary.

In case of beneficiaries who take holidays without the beneficiary, the Solemn Statement is signed by the same persons who were authorized to sign the contract.

For the ferry movement of beneficiaries and subsidying members of the program, special vouchers the Social Tourism Vouchers are issued by the providers, on which, in addition to the usual information, the indication of the program and the voucher number are printed. The Social Tourism Vouchers are exclusively economic seat and their price varies based on the broader category of tickets they belong to and the itinerary period they are used in.

The following categories of Social Tourism Vouchers are distinguished into:

• Adults (and children of the age included in the provider's pricing policy in the adult category)
• Multiple children and children of an age for which a 50% discount is provided according to the provider's pricing policy
• PWDs with a disability of 50% or more

In the price of Social Tourism tickets, the following participate financially:

• The providers, offering a specific discount rate.
• DYPA.,with a specific percentage of subsidy
• Beneficiaries/beneficiaries, with a specific percentage of private participation, except for beneficiaries/beneficiaries with disabilities (50% and above) whose participation percentage is zero.

Social Tourism Vouchers are issued round trip by the same provider. Return vouchers may be issued by another provider for reasons attributable to the provider (e.g. itinerary cancellation).

Social Tourism Vouchers are not cancelled, but may be converted to an open date, which cannot be later than the expiration date of the program (in conjunction with the closing date for the last night - e.g. last night 31.07.2023 - return ferry ticket on 01.08.2023).

Activation of the shipping voucher

Beneficiaries/subsidying members, after publication of the final results, can print from the online services of the Greek Public Employment Service the Social Tourism Voucher issued in their name for the specific program. They come to the Travel / Ticketing Agencies or the providers' ticket offices, show the printed Social Tourism Voucher and request the issuance of a Social Tourism Voucher of the category they belong to, for the proof of which they must bring with them the necessary supporting documents that prove it (e.g. multi-child ID card).

The ticket is issued through a web service and the Social Tourism Voucher for Ferry Travel is activated for an aller-retour journey.

Register of Tourist Accommodation Providers

Registry of Ferry Ticket Providers

See here the 2023-2024 Pensioners Social Tourism Agreement

See here the Notice of Arrival Form

See the Early Departure Notice Form here

See here the Operator Change Declaration Form

See here the Business Change Declaration Form

See here the Beneficiaries - Beneficiaries Consolidated Nominal Statements Form

Commencement of submission applications to the Greek Public Employment Service's Social Tourism program for e-EFKA pensioners/p. OAEE

See here the Decision to modify the program implementation dates

Results of Beneficiaries

See here the Decision to Amend the Public Call

Supplementary Call for Providers

See here the Supplementary Call for Providers

The tables of beneficiaries for the new social tourism program for retired freelancers of the Greek Public Employment Service have been posted

Today, Thursday, August 4, 2022, the tables of Beneficiaries, subsidying members and Excluded persons of the Social Tourism Program for Pensioners eEFKA (formerly OAEE) of the Greek Public Employment Service (DYPA) have been posted online at:https://www.dypa.gov.gr/en/koinonikos-toyrismos-ghia-sintaksioukhoys-e-efka-prwin-oaee

The program will be implemented as of Saturday 06.08.2022 and its budget is 3 million Euros.

Those submitted an application have the right to submit a single objection against the results from Friday 05.08.2022 at 11:00 a.m. until Sunday 07.08.2022 at 11:59 p.m., exclusively online through the Unified Digital Portal of the Public Administration (gov.gr) at:

https://www.gov.gr/en/ipiresies/ergasia-kai-asphalise/apozemioseis-kai-parokhes/programmata-koinonikou-tourismou-gia-suntaxioukhous-eephka-proen-oaee

Specifically, the path is: Home / Work and insurance / Compensations and subsidies / Social tourism programs for e-EFKA retirees (formerly OAEE).

Objections will be examined by the Board of Directors of the Greek Public Employment Service and the updated lists of Beneficiaries, subsidying members and Excluded will be posted at the above address.

See here the Press Release

See here the Decision to Amend the Public Invitation

List of Beneficiaries - subsidying members

Objections of Beneficiaries to Acceptance

Table of Excluded Beneficiaries

Table of Excluded subsidying Members

The Final Tables of Providers of the Pensioners Social Tourism Program e EFKA (formerly OAEE) 2022-2023 have been posted. The applications of providers for participation

in the program still apply

Today, Friday August 5, 2022, the final lists of Providers of the Pensioners Social Tourism Program e EFKA (formerly OAEE) of 2022-2023 of the Greek Public Employment Service (DYPA) have been posted on the online address::https://www.dypa.gov.gr/en/koinonikos-toyrismos-ghia-sintaksioukhoys-e-efka-prwin-oaee

The participation process is done using the voucher, which is a unique number for each beneficiary and each subsidying member separately.

The beneficiary/ies can spend up to 6 nights in a tourist accommodation they choose from the Greek Public Employment Service's "Register of Providers" upon direct consultation with the provider. Especially for accommodations in Leros, Lesvos, Chios, Kos and in the prefecture of Evros, up to 10 nights can be spent with zero private participation, while in the accommodations of the Municipalities of Istiaia-Edipsos and Mantoudi-Limni-Ag. Annas of N. Evia and Samos can take place up to 12 nights completely free of charge.
Reservations through other businesses, tourism offices, etc. are prohibited. Upon arrival at the tourist accommodation, the providers activate the Social Tourism Checks electronically through the online services (e-services) of the Greek Public Employment Service. The Social Tourism program will "run" during the period 06 August 2022 - 05 August 2023.

The budget of is 3 million euros. This is a highly enhanced and attractive program, both for beneficiaries and providers, since it is characterized by reduced to zero private participation for beneficiaries in the cost of overnight stays in tourist accommodation and increased subsidized prices for providers. With the new program, internal tourism is further strengthened and another category of beneficiaries is added to the Greek Public Employment Service's social policy programs.

In addition, for the peak month of August, a 20% increase in the subsidy is foreseen, so that there is a greater participation of tourist businesses in this particular period. The increase will be valid for the whole year for the accommodations of North Evia and Samos. In addition to accommodation in tourist accommodation, ferry tickets are also subsidized.

The participation of the general category of beneficiaries amounts to 25%, of those with many children to 20%. For people with disabilities, ferry tickets are available free of charge. For ferry travel, the beneficiaries print out the Social Tourism Voucher from the e-services of the Greek Public Employment Service and come to the travel or ticketing agencies or online ticket offices of the providers, show their printed voucher and request the issuance of a Social Tourism Voucher for the category they belong to. It is pointed out that no supporting documents are required for any category, with the exception of the multi-child category.

The Greek Public Employment Service is not involved in the process of issuing a Social Tourism Ferry Ticket. Through an online service, the ticket is issued and the Ferry Social Tourism Voucher is activated for an aller-retour trip. Ferry travel is only allowed for aller-retour trips to/from the location of the selected tourist accommodation. The program will remain open for providers of tourist accommodation and ferry tickets who want to submit applications for participation until 30.06.2023. Applications are submitted exclusively through the Single Digital Portal of the Greek Government gov.gr, with TAXISnet access codes (if the provider only has a head office) or with the access codes of certified users of the Greek Public Employment Service (if the provider also has branches) at the online address:

https://www.gov.gr/en/ipiresies/ergasia-kai-asphalise/apozemioseis-kai-parokhes/parokhoi-koinonikou-tourismou-gia-suntaxioukhous-eephka-proen-oaee

The path is: Home / Work and insurance / Compensation and subsidies / Providers of social tourism for pensioners e-EFKA (formerly OAEE)

See here the Press Release

See here the Supplementary Public Invitation

Final Register of Tourist Accommodation Providers

Search for Tourist Accommodation here

Final Register of Ferry Ticket Providers

Final List of Excluded Providers

See here the Arrival Notice Form

See here the Early Departure Notice Form

See here the Change of Operator Declaration Form

See here the Change of Business Declaration Form

See here the Beneficiaries' Consolidated Nominal Statements

See here the 2022-2023 Retirees Social Tourism Contract (Beneficiaries)

See here the Social Contract Pensioner Tourism 2022-2023 (Beneficiaries with authorization)

See here the Maximum Amounts of Private Participation

See here the Subsidy Prices 2022 - 2023

See here Information on Invoices or Proofs of Service Provision

Temporary Tables of Providers of the e-EFKA Retirees Social Tourism Program (formerly OAEE) - Deadline for Submission of Objections.

The temporary lists of Providers for the new Greek Public Employment Service's Social Tourism program for e-EFKA pensioners/formerly OAEE were posted today, Tuesday 02.08.2022 at the online address: 

https://www.dypa.gov.gr/en/koinonikos-toyrismos-ghia-sintaksioukhoys-e-efka-prwin-oaee-1

The providers who submitted an online application for participation have the right to file a single objection against the results from 03.08.2022 at 11:00 to 05.08.2022 at 10:00. The appeal is only submitted online through the Unified Digital Portal of the Public Administration (gov.gr) at the address: https://www.gov.gr/en/ipiresies/ergasia-kai-asphalise/apozemioseis-kai-parokhes/parokhoi-koinonikou-tourismou-gia-suntaxioukhous-eephka-proen-oaee

Specifically, the path is: Work and Insurance - Compensation and subsidies - Social tourism providers for pensioners e-EFKA (formerly OAEE).

Providers filing an electronic appeal must substantiate their claims, attaching in their objection by electronically scanning their supporting evidence. Objections that are not submitted online are not taken into account.

The program will start on the day after the final results are issued for the providers and will last for 12 months. The budget of the program is 3,000,000 Euros and concerns 25,000 vouchers. This is a new program particularly enhanced and attractive, both for beneficiaries and for providers, as it is characterized by a reduced to zero private participation for beneficiaries in the cost of the overnight stay in the tourist accommodation and increased subsidy prices for providers.

With the new program, internal tourism is further strengthened and another category of beneficiaries is added to the Greek Public Employment Service's social policy programs. Beneficiaries and beneficiaries can spend up to 6 nights in a tourist accommodation they choose from the Greek Public Employment Service's "Provider Register", after their direct agreement with the provider.

Especially for accommodations in Leros, Lesvos, Chios, Kos and in the prefecture of Evros, up to 10 nights can be booked with zero private participation, while in the accommodations of the Municipalities of Istiaea-Edipsos and Mantoudi-Limni-Ag. Anna of N. Evia and Samos, up to 12 nights can be spent completely free of charge.

In the new program, increased subsidy prices apply, which apply to all categories of accommodation, in order to cover the increased costs and ensure a large participation. In addition, for the peak month of August, a 20% increase in the subsidy is foreseen, so that there is a greater participation of tourism businesses in this particular period.

The increase will be valid for the entire year for the accommodations of North Evia and Samos. In addition to accommodation in tourist accommodations, ferry tickets are also subsidized.

The participation of the general category of beneficiaries amounts to 25%, of those with many children to 20%. For disabled people, the ferry tickets are available free of charge.

See the Press Release here