The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has announced the availability of funding to support the modernisation and digital transformation of local authorities integrated into the Smart Tourism Destinations Network that form part of the different stages of the St James Way, with the aim of providing pilgrims with an improved service and a better overall experience during their journey.
“These subsidies complete the deployment of the National Xacobeo Plan 2021-22, an unprecedented funding scheme worth €121 million, for the revitalisation of this ancient route. We are restoring the historical heritage of the Way, improving sustainability and enhancing the tourism offering of its destinations, as well as promoting the use of innovative technologies to help the municipalities along the Way to become more competitive, and to continue to find in tourism a source of employment and prosperity, helping them to maintain a stable population,” explained the Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés.
The rules and regulations regarding these subsidies was published today in the Official State Gazette (BOE), and can be viewed in full via the following link:
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2022/01/13/pdfs/BOE-A-2022-553.pdf
Beneficiaries
It establishes as possible beneficiaries groupings of local entities (from a minimum of 3, to a maximum of 8) that are part of the same Way of St. James route, and present projects aimed at addressing common needs associated with the Way. Applicants need either to already be members of the Smart Destinations Network, or to have applied for membership before the awarding of the funding.
Subsidies of between €500,000 and €1 million
Beneficiaries will be eligible for grants of between €500,000 and €1 million to finance initiatives such as:
– Strategic plans related to digital transformation.
– Modernisation and digital transformation in destination management (provision of technological infrastructure for destination connectivity; data processing; ICT platforms; the establishment of a smart tourist office; systems development, tools and applications based on language technologies and computational linguistics; deployment of tools that enable the digitalisation of tourism businesses and those that fall within the tourism value chain such as shops, restaurants and travel agencies; the introduction of technological tools to expand the “economic footprint of the Way of St. James” in destinations and tourism businesses located in areas that are distant from the main route; the creation of tools aimed at the corporate and public sectors; implementation of digital solutions such as chatbots, augmented reality, etc.)
– Quality based initiatives.
– Initiatives in training and entrepreneurship.
– Other initiatives with the potential to positively impact the Way and the pilgrim experience: from the perspective of improving and adapting physical infrastructure and the natural environment, improving services to pilgrims, and actions in the field of awareness raising and training.
Applications will be accepted over a period of one month, starting from the date of the publication of the call for proposals based on these rules and regulations in the Official State Gazette (BOE). The Ministry has set up the following mailbox to answer queries from interested parties: consultas.ayudas@segittur.es
