Virginia Barcones visits the Borobia Astronomical Observatory ‘El Castillo’

• The Spanish Government, through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, has approved an aid of 1.4 million euros for the project ‘Borobia, sky and nature’

August 21, 2023.- The delegate of the Government, Virginia Barcones, has visited the Borobia Astronomical Observatory ‘El Castillo’ accompanied by the mayor of the town, José Javier Gómez Pardo, who has presented the work that is done in the field of astrotourism in this town.

The government delegate has visited Borobia, invited by the mayor, to attend an evening observation talk. In this way, he has participated in the introductory audiovisual talk, the recognition of constellations with the naked eye and the subsequent observation through the Coyote telescope.

The City Council of Borobia has an aid of 1.4 million euros from the Government of Spain, through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, under the Tourist Sustainability Plan in Destination ‘Borobia, sky and nature’.

The project is aimed at the expansion and integral improvement of the natural and sustainable tourism offer of Borobia and the South Moncayo from resources already accredited, such as the cleaning of the skies and its natural and landscape wealth.

In particular, the Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan will involve the development of 15 actions in the municipality based on four axes of action: competitiveness, green transition, digital transformation and energy efficiency.

In terms of astrotourism, the municipality has an Astronomical Observatory with more than two decades of history. In addition, it has been recognized with the certification of Starlight Tourist Destination for its excellent qualities to contemplate the skies and develop tourist activities around it, as well as for its commitment to the values of scientific dissemination.

The Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan in Borobia proposes to develop a building attached to the Observatory that serves as a multipurpose room. This annex, with a capacity for 50 people, will have a dome with more than nine meters in diameter in which to make projections related to astronomy. “This project is a complement to the seasonality of our tourism resources. We will offer a new resource for those who come to Borobia, make good or bad weather”, said José Javier Gómez Pardo.

Within this Tourist Sustainability Plan in Destino is the hostel of the town with capacity for 60 people, a solution of accommodation in the area thinking of the approval of the Moncayo Natural Park. The plan also includes the installation of charging areas for electric vehicles, as well as solar panels.

As for the valuation of natural resources, Borobia is part of the Natura 2000 Network and has unique landscapes. In this case, the project includes the recovery of the lagoons of Borobia, the promotion of a bird observatory taking advantage of the ornithological richness of the area, as well as the improvement of 44 kilometers of roads to, through their adaptation and signaling, turn them into hiking and mountain biking routes.

ALMOST 2 BILLION NATIONALLY

Last May, the Tourism Sector Conference held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism approved definitively a total of 478 million euros for a total of 175 tourism sustainability projects corresponding to the III Extraordinary Call for the Program of Tourism Sustainability Plans in Destination 2023, financed entirely with the funds of the Recovery Plan.

Those additional 478 million to improve national tourism are added to the 660 million dedicated to the same end in 2021 and to the 720 million of last year’s edition. In total, there are already 1,858 million destined for these projects that prioritize environmental sustainability and digitalization with the aim of achieving a more competitive and higher quality tourism.

Part of these funds corresponding to the Plantes of Tourism Sustainability will be developed in Soria. In the call of 2023 the projects presented by the municipalities of Berlanga de Duero and Medinaceli have been approved, which will receive 1.5 million each of the 30 allocated to Castilla y León for a total of 16 projects.

The extraordinary call of 2021, involved the granting of 41.2 million euros financed with funds of the also called Plan España Podemos to carry out 18 plans and a cohesion action. In the extraordinary call of 2022 another 51 million arrived for the implementation of 15 plans. In addition, the regular program of Destination Tourism Sustainability Plans of 2022 also approved two projects in Covalent and Duruelo de la Sierra.

NINE PROJECTS AND ALMOST 20 MILLION IN SORIA

Thus, of the 50 Destination Tourism Sustainability plans that have been approved in Castilla y León for more than 130 million euros, nine have been approved in the province of Soria for a value that exceeds 19.5 million euros. It’s about ‘Borobia, sky and nature’ (Borobia, 1.44 million); ‘The Footprint of Transhumance’ (Mancomunidad de Tierras Altas de Soria, 2.95 million); ‘Puro Duero, Tierra de Frontera’, (San Esteban de Gormaz, 1.82 million); ‘La Celtiberia Soriana’ (Provincial Council of Soria, 3.61 million); ‘Soria Imagenes’ (City Council of Soria, 2.57 million); ‘kilometer 0 of the Duero’, Duraclei

TOURIST SUSTAINABILITY PLANS IN DESTINATION
CALLS	CyL	No. projects	Soria	No. projects
PSTD Extraordinary 2021	41,200,000	19	9,850,000	4
PSTD Ordinary 2022	4,180,000	2	4,180,000	2
PSTD Extraordinary 2022	51,000	15	2,600,000	1
PSTD Extraordinary 2023	30,000,000	16	3,000,000	2
	126,380,000	52	19,630,000	9