Valencia puts aside 6 million euros for aid to tourist municipalities

Tuesday 9th November 2021 – PRESS RELEASE with Mike Smith

The Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) has published the specific allocation of the Municipal Cooperation Fund for Tourist Municipalities of the Comunidad Valenciana corresponding to each beneficiary entity for the 2021 budget year.

The DOGV confirmed that the fund is endowed with 6 million euros from which 252 towns in the region will benefit. The amounts will be paid to each beneficiary in a single payment corresponding to 100% of the total amount.

The regional secretary of Tourism, Francesc Colomer, explained that “this will be the second year that this cooperation fund aimed at tourist municipalities is offered, which in 2020 had a budget of 4.5 million and that this year has been increased to 6 million”.

Colomer explained that the provincial councils have the possibility of adding funds to increase this amount and that “in just two years of operation, 10.5 million euros will be distributed, which is more than double what was distributed in the last five years of the previous model (2010-2015) “.

Promotion of Quality Tourism

It should be noted that the Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Law of 2018 regulates the Statute of the Tourist Municipality of the Comunidad Valenciana in order to promote quality in the provision of municipal services to the entire tourist population, contributing to sustainable and inclusive tourism, founded on the principle of hospitality and on the commitments contemplated in the Code of Ethics for Valencian Tourism.

Recognition of the status of tourist municipality grants the right to access specific financing channels to compensate the financial obligation involved in sustaining this tourist activity, both for the provision of services and for investment in infrastructure as well as other complementary plans aimed at meeting criteria related to quality or sustainability, among other actions.

All municipalities declared as tourist destinations during 2020 and 2021 will be able to benefit from this complementary aid from the Municipal Cooperation Fund for Tourist Municipalities of the Comunidad Valenciana.

In 2022, those municipalities that intend to apply for the aid will have to be recognized as a tourist municipality in accordance with the provisions of Decree 5/2020 and meet those stipulated criteria.

Distribution of the Funds

According to the distribution of the funds published in the DOGV, 252 municipalities of the Comunidad Valenciana will receive financial compensation. By provinces, there are 86 municipalities in Castellón, 64 in Alicante and 102 municipalities in the province of Valencia.

Each municipality will receive a fixed amount amounting to 6,745 euros, while the remaining amount will be distributed based on the total number of regulated accommodation places.

Regarding the distribution of funds by provinces, Alicante will receive a total of 2,560,378.72 euros, Castellón will receive 1,559,448.88 euros and the province of Valencia will receive aid of 1,880,172.40 euros.

Among the municipalities that will receive the largest endowment of funds in the province of Alicante are Benidorm (395,438.09 euros), Calp (164,886.42 euros), Xàbia-Jávea (153,508.17 euros), Dénia (139,155.71 euros), Alicante ( 136,522.14 euros) and Torrevieja (118,015.96 euros).

In the province of Castellón, the municipalities that will receive the most funds are Peñíscola (168,069.04 euros), Oropesa del Mar (148,835.87 euros), Alcalà de Xivert (94,858.37 euros), Benicàssim (63,444.19 euros) and Castelló de la Plana (52,965.26 euros).

In the province of Valencia, the municipalities of Valencia (250,574.09 euros), Gandia (116,694.09 euros), Oliva (79,786.79 euros) and Cullera (53,451.07 euros) stand out.