The Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, chaired the meeting of the Plenary of the Spanish Tourism Council (CONESTUR) where this roadmap for the future of our country’s tourism model was presented.
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During the meeting with representatives of the Autonomous Communities, local authorities and the tourism sector, Minister Reyes Maroto also shared the good prospects the ministry has for autumn and reviewed the packages of measures approved by the government to contain inflation and guarantee energy supply, measures that are proving to be effective. He also informed the members of CONESTUR of the process of implementing measures to meet European commitments to energy savings, now included in the More Energy Security Plan (+SE) recently approved by the government.
“A plan that offers more security to the business fabric, providing a framework that guarantees predictability and security of supply, also generating confidence in the tourism and travel sector,” said the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto. Maroto also recalled the support for the adoption of energy transition measures and the framework of support for energy costs that the government is providing.
Thus, the minister pointed out the investments being made by her department, financed with European funds, to improve the competitiveness of our tourist destinations and companies and to move towards sustainable, digital and inclusive tourism. In the first years of implementation of the plan – 2021/22 – the final appropriation for the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan in the Tourism Area as of 30 September 2022 amounts to €2,399.6 million (from component 14). An expenditure of €1,057.4 million has been authorised against these appropriations. “We are at the halfway point of the implementation period and we have already authorised 44% of the allocated funds. For the 2023 budget, the tourism area will have a budget of over €1 billion, a large part of which corresponds to the Tourism Sustainability Plans in Destinations”, explained the Minister of Tourism.
Progress in sustainability, digitalisation and innovation
At its second face-to-face meeting after the one held last June, the Spanish Tourism Council approved the eight levers on which the work aimed at creating a new tourism model will be based.
Of these eight elements, the first is the boost to digitalisation, aimed at cost savings, the data economy, improved promotion and sales and competitiveness; secondly, social sustainability, which affects the development of specific actions to promote the conservation of natural environments, customs and the traditional local way of life; thirdly, environmental sustainability, which aims to reduce the sector’s ecological footprint; and thirdly, environmental sustainability, which aims to reduce the sector’s ecological footprint; fourthly, another of the main axes of transformation revolves around improving connectivity, intermodality and tourism mobility to improve the visitor experience while responding to environmental challenges; fifthly, innovation of experiences and products; sixthly, attracting, training and retaining talent to enhance the human factor as a key element of the tourism experience; and finally, the adaptation of differentiated tourist destinations (mature, consolidated and emerging destinations), to better plan and manage the different needs of each one of them.
About Conestur
Conestur is a collegiate, advisory and consultative body attached to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. It is chaired by the head of the department and its vice-president is the Secretary of State for Tourism. It brings together the Ministry with representatives of the Autonomous Communities, local entities, business and trade union organisations and professionals of recognised prestige. Its objective is to encourage the participation of the different Public Administrations with powers in this area and of the businesspeople, workers and professionals who have an impact on tourism activity, in the monitoring of tourism policies in Spain, as well as in the activities of the State Tourism Administration.