Open
Source verified July 31, 2026
Tourism establishment accessibility program
Funding for accessible tourism improvements
Offered by
Funding available
$ 300,000
Deadline
March 31, 2027
Opened January 1, 2024
Location
Quebec, Canada
Overview
The Tourism Establishment Accessibility Program (PAET) offers up to $300,000 to eligible tourism organizations in Quebec to improve accessibility and support innovative inclusive tourism projects. Funded work can include barrier-free entrances and routes, accessible washrooms, and adapted equipment or signage.
/100
Opportunity Score
Moderate potential, but conditions must align.
At a glance
Funding available
Financing goals
- Develop strategic partnerships
- Renovate or adapt facilities
Eligible Funding
- Maximum amount : 300,000 $
Funds Providers
Eligible candidates
Eligible Industries
- All industries
Location
- Quebec
Legal structures
- Non-profit
- For-profit business
Annual revenue
- All revenue ranges
Organisation size
- All organization sizes
Audience
- All groups
Non-profit candidates
Sector of operation
- All industries
Target groups
- All the groups
Revenue structures
- All structures
Scope
- All dimensions
Next Steps
1
Determine your project
2
Validate your eligibility
Activities funded
- Infrastructure and exterior layout projects that make tourism facilities accessible or enhance an already accessible offer.
- Innovative projects that broaden and diversify the accessible tourism offer through adapted equipment, adapted material, or accessible activities.
- Accessibility improvements such as barrier-free exterior or interior routes, obstacle-free entrances, accessible washrooms, and platform lifts or elevators.
- Adapted accommodation or attraction projects, including accessible rooms, bathrooms, common areas, safety equipment, and adapted activity materials.
- Collective projects led by a designated organization, and large-site attraction projects that make one or more sections accessible.
Documents Needed
- The financial assistance application form
- Plans and specifications for the accessibility-related work
- Two comparative quotes for accessibility-related work, or a detailed budget estimate if applicable, plus the public call for tenders document if required
- Audited financial statements for the last 2 years; start-up organizations must submit project expenses and a business plan or another document showing project viability
- If applicable: two quotes for adapted material or specialized equipment, written authorization from the owner if the applicant is a tenant, and a board or band council resolution designating a representative
Official resources
Eligibility
Who is eligible?
- Legally constituted for-profit organizations.
- Legally constituted non-profit organizations.
- Legally constituted cooperatives.
- Indigenous organizations, communities, and nations recognized by the National Assembly.
- Any grouping of these eligible clienteles.
Who is not eligible
- State-owned enterprises, ministries, and government organizations of Quebec or Canada.
- Municipalities, except a non-governmental organization operating a tourism asset, service, or other activity in a municipal or MRC location under a written agreement with that municipality or MRC.
- Businesses listed in the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics.
- Businesses that, during the 2 years preceding the application, failed to meet their obligations after having been formally notified in connection with previous financial assistance from the ministère du Tourisme du Québec.
Eligible expenses
- Professional fees for accessibility-related plans and specifications, design, engineering, technical support, project supervision, project management, reporting, public tender preparation, and certification reports, subject to the applicable 10% limits.
- Improvement or transformation work on a building or site to obtain the Kéroul accessible rating, including materials, labour, and administrative costs.
- Repair, maintenance, or renovation work under $20,000, if a budget estimate is submitted and the work complies with RBQ requirements.
- The purchase and installation of specialized equipment or furniture, and the acquisition of adapted material to enhance the client experience.
- Municipal permit costs effective January 1, 2026, net taxes excluding the reimbursed portion, and contingency costs up to 5% of costs.
Ineligible Costs and Activities
- Projects already completed or started before all required documents, including plan approval, are submitted for PAET analysis; projects consisting of regular maintenance work; and projects intended only to comply with Quebec Construction Code accessibility requirements that already applied when the establishment was built or transformed.
- Projects from the sectors of sales, alcohol or cannabis consumption, games of chance, and retail trade, except restaurants, microbreweries, distilleries, vineyards, public markets, and tourist shops or boutiques.
- Costs to acquire a business and its infrastructure, asset transfers, or rental costs for land, buildings, and other facilities.
- Promotion and commercialization costs, including website redesign, acquisition of animals, administrative or storage equipment and materials, travel costs, financing costs, lobbyist fees, and donations or in-kind contributions.
- Refundable taxes, employee salaries and benefits and other operating, maintenance, or management costs except the permitted portion for work under $20,000, costs beyond the 5% contingency limit, and costs tied to work not included in the technical specifications or not essential to obtaining or enhancing the Kéroul accessible rating.
Eligible geographic areas
- Quebec
Selection criteria
- Tourism relevance of the project.
- The project’s commitment to responsible and sustainable tourism.
- Project feasibility.
- If the number of projects and or their collective costs exceed the grant parameters, priority is given to the projects with the highest score, in order of receipt of the complete project file.
How to apply
- Download the application form to your computer before completing it; do not use a phone, tablet, or web browser.
- Open a file to validate the eligibility of the establishment and the project by completing the form.
- Send the required initial form sections by email to paet@keroul.qc.ca to validate project eligibility.
- After file opening and eligibility verification, meet with the Kéroul representative during the site visit and review the recommendations provided.
- If proceeding, complete all sections of the financial assistance application form based on the recommendations received and attach the required supporting documents.
- Email the complete application package to paet@keroul.qc.ca for analysis.
Processing and Agreement
- After file opening and eligibility verification, a Kéroul representative contacts the applicant to schedule a site visit and discuss the project, program objectives, and improvements needed to obtain the Kéroul accessible rating.
- The analysis committee meets about four times per year, and meeting dates are communicated when the application is in process.
- Applicants should allow about six months between opening their file and the end of the application process.
- To receive funding, the promoter must sign a financial assistance agreement with Kéroul covering eligible work and costs, the project period, payment terms, and the obligations of both parties.
- At the end of the work, supported projects must be certified accessible by Kéroul, and the final payment is made after the required invoices and certification documents are received.
Additional information
- The program is managed by Kéroul and funded by the ministère du Tourisme du Québec.
- Reference technical sheets are available on Kéroul’s website to support infrastructure transformation or improvement work.
- The Guide de Plein air pour tous can be used as a source of inspiration for adapted outdoor activities, equipment, and related resources.
- The Guide pour une expérience culturelle accessible et inclusive can also be used as a planning reference.
Contacts
Frequently Asked Questions about the Tourism establishment accessibility program Program
What is the Tourism establishment accessibility program?
The Tourism Establishment Accessibility Program (PAET) offers up to $300,000 to eligible tourism organizations in Quebec to improve accessibility and support innovative inclusive tourism projects. Funded work can include barrier-free entrances and routes, accessible washrooms, and adapted equipment or signage.
How much funding can be received?
Tourism establishment accessibility program Funds up to $300,000 of admissible expenses.
What is the deadline to apply?
The application deadline for this grant program is March 31, 2027. Applicants must submit their complete application before this date to be considered for funding.
Who is eligible for the Tourism establishment accessibility program program?
To be eligible for the Tourism establishment accessibility program program, you must:
Be legally constituted under Quebec or Canadian law and do business in Quebec.
Be recognized by a tourism association or BonjourQuebec.com, or be in the process of obtaining tourism recognition.
Submit a project in an eligible tourism sector that aims to obtain the Kéroul accessible rating or enhance an already accessible offer.
What expenses are eligible under Tourism establishment accessibility program?
Infrastructure and exterior layout projects that make tourism facilities accessible or enhance an already accessible offer.
Innovative projects that broaden and diversify the accessible tourism offer through adapted equipment, adapted material, or accessible activities.
Accessibility improvements such as barrier-free exterior or interior routes, obstacle-free entrances, accessible washrooms, and platform lifts or elevators.
Adapted accommodation or attraction projects, including accessible rooms, bathrooms, common areas, safety equipment, and adapted activity materials.
Collective projects led by a designated organization, and large-site attraction projects that make one or more sections accessible.
Who can I contact for more information about the Tourism establishment accessibility program?
You can contact Kéroul by email at paet@keroul.qc.ca or by phone at 514 252-3104.
Where is the Tourism establishment accessibility program available?
The Tourism establishment accessibility program program is available the province of Quebec.