The Ministry and the Autonomous Communities agree to expedite the final stage of the implementation of European funds to transform tourism

The Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, chairs the Sectoral Conference for Tourism, at the Ministry headquarters

The Ministry of Industry and Tourism and the Autonomous Communities have agreed, within the framework of the Sectoral Conference on Tourism, to simplify and expedite the final stage of the implementation of European funds earmarked to promote the comprehensive and sustainable transformation of the tourism sector.

The Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, highlighted the Government's commitment in recent years to dialogue, monitoring, and support in the implementation of the Modernisation and Competitiveness Plan for the Spanish tourism sector, an unprecedented plan with a budget of 3.4 billion euros.

For Hereu, today's meeting represents a significant exercise in co-governance, unparalleled in the recent history of tourism in Spain. "We are aware of the challenge that implementing the Next Generation funds has posed at a critical time for tourism due to the pandemic", the minister said, "but now that we are at the end of a long road, we can assure you that this venture has been a success".

Extension of deadlines for PRTR milestones

In recent months, the Government has intensified its dialogue with the European Commission to negotiate a simplification of the certification process for milestones included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

As a result of these negotiations, an extension of implementation deadlines has been achieved. Regarding European funds for tourism transformation, this means that all Sustainable Tourism Plans (STPs) now have an implementation deadline of June 2026.

Likewise, the deadlines for the Energy Efficiency programme have also been extended (with the implementation date extended to June 2026), as well as the competitive calls for proposals for Last Mile and Rehabilitation of Historical Heritage for tourism use.

Thanks to these extensions and the simplification of milestone certification, Hereu stated, "we are making the triple bottom line sustainability of the tourism sector a reality, a comprehensive transformation of the sector, hand in hand with public policies, the relevant administrations, private stakeholders, and workers".

Seven sectoral conferences and 220 bilateral commissions

Over the years, the Ministry and the State Secretariat for Tourism have consistently engaged in co-governance, reaching agreements with the various autonomous communities on the operation of the programmes and the distribution criteria for €2.166 billion (the amount transferred to the communities out of a total of €3.4 billion) in a total of seven sectoral conferences since 2020.

Furthermore, technical missions have been carried out in all the autonomous communities, and more than 220 bilateral monitoring commissions have been maintained to ensure the proper distribution and implementation of European funds.

Tourism Strategy 2030, transport and housing

Today's meeting addressed other relevant issues related to tourism governance for informational purposes. The Ministry has presented the Spain Tourism Strategy 2030 document to the autonomous communities, approved by the Council of Ministers in the last quarter of 2025, and has positively assessed their active participation in shaping what is now the definitive roadmap for the future of tourism in our country. The sectoral meeting also addressed the importance of connectivity and transport infrastructure for the development of tourist destinations and the mobility of tourists in Spain.

Finally, the meeting served to analyse the implementation status and degree of effective alignment of the Smart Destination Platform (PID) and the Open Innovation Platform (PIA), the effects of implementing Royal Decree 1312/2024 on the Single Registry and a Digital One-Stop Shop for Rentals, and the evaluation of actions taken by the General State Administration that impact territorial tourism development.

Non official translation