The Spanish government will allocate €81.4 million in European funds for the rehabilitation, maintenance and embellishment of the historical heritage of the Paradores de Turismo network.
The budget for this ambitious project is included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan from the European Next Generation funds. Overall, 39 properties of cultural interest and the Alcalá la Real complex will benefit from this preservation plan. Turespaña, as the owner of the properties, will be the body responsible for managing this heritage conservation programme for the network.
The funds from the Recovery Plan give us a unique opportunity to intervene in the jewels of the network of Parador, castles, palaces, convents and monasteries that offer travellers a unique and authentic experience, difficult to repeat in any other country in the world.
Miguel Sanz, Director of Turespaña
More than 70% of the budget will be dedicated to the conservation of facades, walls, towers and bastions, cloisters and churches, among others. Another 17% will finance the updating of the monuments' lighting systems to improve their efficiency and energy performance, while the rest of the budget will be invested in landscaping projects or the conservation of unique elements such as plasterwork, frescoes, sculptures and capitals, among others.
Spain, as the Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés, pointed out, "has an immense historical heritage within the network of Paradores, monuments open to the public in which the government is investing a historic amount for their improvement and maintenance, which will benefit both tourists and residents". As a reminder, the number of travellers choosing Spain as a cultural tourism destination has increased by 16% between 2016 and 2019.
This is one of our main assets of a growing cultural tourism that needs to be promoted much more. Preserving it properly by maintaining its authenticity, while optimising its operation in terms of efficiency and safety, is crucial to being a tourist attraction and generating the local development we want in terms of activity and employment.
Pedro Saura, President of Paradores de Turismo
