Government approves 16 sustainable tourism projects in Castilla y León with an investment of more than 30 million euros of European funds

May 9, 2023.– The Government, through the Sectoral Tourism Conference, chaired by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, has approved 16 tourism sustainability projects in Castilla y León, which will receive for its implementation 30,020,000 euros corresponding to the III Extraordinary Call of the Tourism Sustainability Plans in Destination 2023 program, financed entirely with the Next Generation EU funds of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

In total, the autonomous communities will receive an investment of 478 million euros for the financing of 175 tourism sustainability projects, 160 of which will be managed by local entities, while the remaining 15 correspond to cohesion actions (ACD) that will be developed by the autonomous communities and will have a direct impact on destinations.

By type of destination, 255 projects correspond to rural destinations with tourist identity, 69 to tourist destinations of sun and mixed/residential beach, 53 to cities with tourist identity, 18 to urban tourist destinations and the rest to coastal rural destinations (28), natural spaces (36), very internationalized sun and beach destinations (24) and large urban destinations (1).

The Sectoral Conference on Tourism, held this Tuesday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, has detailed the projects definitively approved. Of the 16 projects approved in Castilla y León, 14 correspond to rural destinations with tourist identity. In addition, also in accordance with this investment, the Community will develop two cohesion actions (DCA), which will boost the tourist quality of the destinations. All of them can be consulted in the document below.

Below are details of each of the projects to be financed by provinces:

ÁVILA

La Adrada (City Council): The objective of the plan is to turn the municipality of La Adrada into a sustainable rural destination of reference in the Upper Tiétar Valley, which is a reference for its commitment to tourist ecomovility. It is intended to specialize the destination to become a reference for hiking and cycling, invest in projects that contribute to the adaptation and fight against climate change, promote digitalization and gamification based on the most unique tourist resources to improve the visitor experience and improve the territorial governance model.

BURGOS

Association for the Integral Rural Development of the Comarcas Surrounding the Camino de Santiago (Local Association): The plan aims to promote the development of the local communities of the Province of Burgos included in the Geoparque Las Loras through investments and actions that improve the tourist destinations of the territory, incorporating sustainability and digitalization in the management of the resources, infrastructures and tourist products of the Geoparque, diversifying its offer and improving the natural capital of the tourist system.

Burgos (Deputation): The territorial scope covered by this plan is the one related to the site of the Roman city Colonia Clunia Sulpicia, located in the Burgos municipality of Peñalba de Castro, as well as in other municipalities in the region of Ribera del Duero where there are patrimonial resources related to this site. The general objective of the plan is to promote the tourist development of the entire territory taking as a central element the Roman site that in the year 2022 has received 26,000 tourists.

LION

Carucedo (City Council): The plan seeks to guarantee the conservation and protection of the Las Médulas Cultural and Natural Space, which has been part of the privileged list of UNESCO World Heritage since December 4, 1997, along with the rationalization of its use, while promoting its positioning as the main lever for dynamizing the socio-economic reality of the territory.

PALENCIA

Consortium for the Tourism Management of the Castilla Canal (Consortium): The Castilla Canal is a Property of Cultural Interest with the category of Historic Complex (1991), and in 2001 its Regional Conservation Plan was approved. The objective of the plan is to revitalize the Castilla Canal by encouraging a tourist activity that fosters the creation of employment in an attractive environment, which facilitates its sustainable development and the conservation of its heritage.

Palencia (Diputación): The Cerrato Palentino is a natural region to the southeast of the province of Palencia that comprises a landscape of calcaneal moorlands formed millions of years ago by sedimentation of the Douro River basin. The plan seeks the development of the region of the Cerrato Palentino putting in value the Barrios de Bodegas by supporting all the agents involved in the value chain of oenological tourism.

SALAMANCA

Ciudad Rodrigo (City Hall): Ciudad Rodrigo has and is an enclave of a great heritage and historical rique that is the main base of its tourist offer (walled city, with a very well preserved architectural conjun). The general objectives of the project are the diversification of the tourism offer of the municipality and the significant improvement of the existing offer and resources, through improvement of sustainability and the implementation of a sustainable tourism system.

Saelices el Chico (Town Hall): The plan has as its main objective the enhancement of the Roman villa ensuring the environmental and tourist sustainability through the creation of an Archaeological Park Villa Romana de Saelices Cl Chico to promote the archaeological cultural tourism of rural area that will have: the site itself, a leisure and culture space and an archaeological classroom, among others.

SORIA

Berlanga de Duero (Town Hall): The plan aims to develop all the tourist potential of Berlanga de Duero, offering new attractions of cultural and natural character. It seeks to contribute to sustainable growth by creating employment to curb the loss of population by valuing its cultural and natural heritage by seeking new experiences to offer, such as, for example, new hiking routes, the recovery of the Old Road of Berlanga or the sustainable rehabilitation of the Palace of the Marquises of Berlanga, among others.

Medinaceli (City Hall): The Villa of Medinaceli was declared Historical-Artistic Complex in 1963 and has Roman remains and diverse cultures. The main objective of the plan is to de-seasonalize tourism, through strengthening the tourism business fabric of Medinaceli, providing digital skills to workers in the sector or making tourism infrastructures profitable to strengthen the offer.

VALLADOLID

Peñafiel (City Council): The main objective of the plan is to promote the tourist activity of Peñafiel based on green tourist infrastructures integrating tourist products related to nature, culture (archaeology, tauromaquia and sacred art) and enogastronomy, promoting the seasonalization and valuing the natural and cultural heritage of the area.

Tordesillas (Town Hall): The plan seeks to consolidate the patrimonial offer and the tourist positioning of the Villa de Tordesillas as a tourist destination, with main values included in the Treaty of Tordesillas and the figure of Queen Juana, as well as bet on the recovery of the cultural, historical, monumental and natural heritage for its tourist use.

Consortium of the Rueda Wine Route (Consortium): the main ambition of this plan is to improve the competitiveness of the Rueda Wine Route as a tourist destination through promotion, training and quality in destination, competitiveness, innovation and sustainability in its three aspects – economic, environmental and social.

Valladolid (Diputación): The actions of the Plan will focus on the environment of the visitable castles of the Province of Valladolid that has 42 castles and fortresses that constitute one of the greatest tourist attractions in the area. The main objective of the plan is to value this historical and cultural heritage and develop a tourist culture in all agents of the province around the tourist product “Castles of Valladolid”.

The cohesion actions in destination that will be financed are the following:

ACD Castilla y León, Siega Verde: The general objective of this action is to raise the archaeological site of Siega Verde to a reference of excellent patrimonial tourism at national and international level, developing an attractive and sustainable tourist offer capable of reaching all types of visitors. It will also boost Siega Verde’s tourist attraction and contribute to the positioning of the Iberian Peninsula as the nucleus of Paleolithic rock art.

ACD Castilla y León, Valpone: This action has as its main objective the creation in the town of Valpone of the center of the origins of Spanish, reference center on the birth of the language together with the Palacio de La Isla (Burgos). The creation of the center, the promotion of activities and the enhancement of historical heritage will have a direct impact on the development of the area and the promotion of seasonally displaced tourism.