Laurentides Tourism — EPRTNT – Studies and consulting services

• Minimum eligible project costs: $10,000.
• Maximum grant amount per project: $25,000.
• Financial assistance cannot exceed 50% of eligible project costs.
• Grants to non-profit organizations, cooperatives, and municipalities may reach up to 80% of eligible costs; for Indigenous communities, up to 90%.
• Promoters' contributions (including partners/sponsors) cannot originate from government grant sources, asset transfers, or in-kind contributions.

• The applicant must be a legally constituted tourism enterprise, non-profit organization, cooperative, municipal entity, recognized Indigenous community, or an organization/business serving the tourism sector, operating in Quebec.
• The organization must conduct business in Quebec and comply with all relevant provincial and federal laws.
• Tourism accommodation businesses must comply with sector regulations and hold a valid registration number.
• Tourism businesses in nature and adventure sectors must meet, be in the process of meeting, or commit to meeting the standards of the "Qualité-Sécurité d’Aventure Écotourisme Québec" accreditation.
• The applicant must have fulfilled previous commitments if they have previously received funding from this program or its partners.

Who is eligible?

• For-profit tourism organizations
• Non-profit tourism organizations
• Tourism cooperatives
• Municipal entities (including municipalities, cities, towns, villages, townships, regional county municipalities, metropolitan communities, intermunicipal boards, and corporations managed or financed primarily by municipal governments, as well as their groupings)
• Recognized Indigenous communities, nations, organizations, and Indigenous tourism enterprises

Who is not eligible

• State-owned companies and ministries or agencies of the Quebec and Canadian governments.
• Applicants listed in the Register of Enterprises Ineligible for Public Contracts.
• Companies not compliant with the Quebec French language compliance process (Office québécois de la langue française).
• Tourist accommodation businesses that do not meet the required laws and regulations, or do not hold a registration number.
• Projects from the bed and breakfast sector, hotel condominiums (condotels), restaurants, and retail sectors.

Eligible expenses

• Professional fees for specialized consulting firms or consultants for carrying out specific studies related to tourism development.
• Professional fees for consultants providing business improvement support, including quality enhancement of services and products.
• Net taxes related to direct eligible costs (excluding refunded amounts).

Eligible geographic areas

• Laurentides region, Quebec

• Alignment with the objectives of the EPRTNT 25-27 program.
• Structural impact, such as project reach, attraction power, and benefits including job creation and season extension.
• Innovative nature of the project.
• Quality of the project concept, products, and services.
• Financial structure and project financing plan.
• Relevance to the tourism clientele and diversification, market context, and marketing strategy.
• Feasibility, including project schedule and expertise of the applicant.
• Consideration of sustainable development principles.

• Applicants must obtain two offers from professional service providers for consulting contracts related to their project.
• Projects involving agrotourism or gourmet tourism may include expenses for installations and equipment required for product sales if these are integral to the tourist experience.
• Organizations with 25 or more employees over a 6-month period must provide proof of compliance with language requirements under Québec's Charte de la langue française.