Big plans for sustainability

THE Valencian Community is to receive more than €139 million from the central government between 2022 and 2026.
The cash will arrive via Madrid’s Strategy for Sustainable Tourist Destinations that lays the foundations for a new tourism model consistent with the UN’s 2030 sustainable development targets.
The Sustainable Tourist Destinations plan will be carried out by local, provincial and regional administrations, coordinated by the Diputacion provincial councils and the region’s Tourism Board.
It will be based on a green and sustainable transition, energy-efficiency, digital transformation and competitivity, explained Spain’s Tourism minister Reyes Maroto and Francesc Colomer, her Valencian Community equivalent in the Generalitat’s Consell.
The Sustainable Tourist Destination plan encourages collaboration between the public and private sectors, enabling businesses to benefit from its management and digitalisation initiatives.
Local authorities now have until September 20 to apply for amounts ranging from €1 million to €10 million, depending on the category of each tourist destination.
Meanwhile, the central government has allocated €2.3 million to the Generalitat to advance sustainable tourism under a pilot scheme in Altea and Peñiscola (Castellon). This follows on from similar grants made last year to Benidorm and Gandia.