The 15 World Heritage Cities in Spain will receive 45 million euros from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism to finance sustainable projects for the rehabilitation and maintenance of historical and cultural heritage for tourist use, as announced today by the minister Reyes Maroto, at the presentation ceremony of the Impulsa Patrimonio program in Baeza (Jaén).
"The Spanish historical and cultural heritage is a product with a strong attraction of both national and international tourists and has an increasing weight in the decision to travel to Spain, as evidenced by the growth of 16% that between 2016 and 2019 registered tourism culture as the main reason for travel among the international visitors we receive in that period. Therefore, within our plan for modernization and competitiveness of the tourism sector that we finance with Next Generation-EU funds, we launched this Boost Heritage program, to finance sustainable projects for the rehabilitation and maintenance of historical and cultural heritage and to enhance the tourist attraction capacity of our Heritage Cities throughout our territory. Boost Heritage will allow us to reinforce our commitment to quality, sustainable, digital and inclusive tourism and enhance our position of tourism leadership worldwide ”, explained the minister in the act of presentation of the plan.
The mayor of Baeza, Lola marin, who acted as host at the event, highlighted that the town of Jaén lays the foundations of this ambitious project for the 15 cities of the Group. Marín thanked the Government of Spain for “choosing Baeza for this announcement, which represents a milestone in the launch of important recovery and economy generation projects in cities like Baeza that represent the best of our culture and heritage. country, "he underlines. The mayor has stressed that" we are meeting in my city the most responsible for the promotion of Tourism in this country, which shows the relevance of this Plan Boosts Heritage, "he asserts.
The President of the Group of World Heritage Cities of Spain and Mayor of Mérida, Antonio Rodriguez Osuna, thanked the Minister for her "commitment to promoting the Spain Brand" and publicly expressed the commitment of the 15 cities she represents to allocate funds to "projects that will revitalize fundamental spaces in the lives of neighbors, and also for tourists, boosting the economy and generating employment. ”“ Our heritage cities are jewels of this country and their development has a different complexity from the rest, ”he pointed out.
The presidents of Paradores also participated in the event, Pedro Saura, and Segittur, Enrique Martinez, and the CEO of Turespaña, Miguel Sanz, to explain the collaboration of the organizations and companies they represent with Heritage Cities.
Investment of 3 million per city
The Boost Heritage Program will be approved soon by the Council of Ministers and establishes the distribution of these 45 million euros among the 15 Heritage Cities (Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Baeza, Cáceres, Córdoba, Cuenca, Ibiza, La Laguna, Mérida, Salamanca , Santiago, Segovia, Tarragona, Toledo and Úbeda), which will receive a maximum of three million each.
The actions that will be financed with this program include the rehabilitation of buildings considered Assets of Cultural Interest; renovation of pavements and adaptation for people with reduced mobility; replacement of lighting systems to save energy; adaptation of heritage for tourist use, among others.
Collaboration actions Ministry and Heritage Cities
As a result of collaboration between the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, in recent months projects such as the Post-COVID Strategy Study in World Heritage Cities have been developed with the aim of reorienting the Group's Operational Plan towards the reactivation of the cultural and heritage tourism in the 15 cities.
In addition, the Group has also had the collaboration of the Secretary of State for Tourism to launch the audiovisual project An Extraordinary Journey which, accompanied by 15 individual films from each city, generates promotional material for campaigns in national markets and international.
In the case of Turespaña, in the last year around twenty joint promotion actions have been carried out with the Heritage Cities through the Spanish Tourism Councils abroad. Recently, the Heritage Cities brand has been presented to tour operators, travel agents and the media at two events at the University of California and Las Vegas, in addition to the promotion made at the Grammy Awards ceremony and at the Arcángel concert. in Los Angeles. The positioning of Heritage Cities as a MICE destination will take place this April with the celebration in Baeza of the International Congress of Aerospace Technologies.
For its part, Paradores has collaborated for more than 15 years with the World Heritage Cities Group with joint promotional actions to promote cultural tourism at the national level and in the international market. Both entities represent the best of the Spain Brand and are committed to sustainable, quality tourism, interested in history, art and gastronomy.
An alliance that allows the recovery of tourism by promoting the rich heritage, culture and natural capital where the Paradores are located. Eleven cities of the Group (Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Cáceres, Córdoba, Cuenca, Mérida, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Toledo and Úbeda) have a Parador de Turismo and the Parador de Ibiza is under construction, in the Dalt Vila castle.
The 15 Heritage Cities, and the Group of Cities as such, are also part of the Smart Tourist Destinations Network, a model promoted by the Secretary of State for Tourism, through Segittur, which helps them advance in challenges such as digitization. , sustainability and the promotion of tourist destinations, with criteria of innovation and accessibility. Salamanca, Cuenca, Cáceres and Mérida are the ones that have advanced the most in this model.
