1.5 million for twenty rural municipalities in tourism and signage projects

The Official Gazette of Castilla y León publishes this Friday, October 30, 2026, Order CYT/1136/2026, of October 22, which resolves the call for grants aimed at local entities with a population of fewer than 20,000 inhabitants to finance projects of regional tourist interest and the improvement of resource signage. The Regional Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport grants a total of 1,500,000 euros, distributed among twenty projects from town halls and neighborhood councils in rural areas. The resolution, signed by Minister José Alberto Díaz Pico, appears in issue number 211 of the gazette, pages 84 to 116, with the reference BOCYL-D-30102026-211-20.

The framework of the call

The grants are based on the regulatory bases approved by Order CYT/1151/2023, of September 29, modified by Order CYT/419/2025, of April 24, and on the call made by order of June 29, 2026, whose extract was published in issue number 126 of the gazette, on July 2. The expenditure is charged to budget application 10.05.432A01.760.1I.0 of the 2024 budgets, extended for 2026 by Decree 23/2025, of December 30.

The assessment was carried out by the Assessment Commission, which established the order of priority and the amounts. The granted amounts do not cover the full cost of the actions: in smaller projects, the grant reaches 80% of the budget, while in more ambitious interventions, the percentage drops to below half of the total cost.

Twenty beneficiaries and two major hubs

• Villalón de Campos Town Hall (Valladolid): 143,880.30 euros for “Villalón, cheese gateway of Tierra de Campos,” the highest score in the distribution with 69 points.
• Carmenes Town Hall (León): 141,795.08 euros for thermal waters and a bungalow area in Getino.
• Medinaceli Town Hall (Soria): 135,539.41 euros for the visitor welcome center.
• Vega de Espinareda Town Hall (León): 120,942.86 euros to rehabilitate the parish house of the Monastery of San Andrés as a hostel, third phase.
• Lerma Town Hall (Burgos): 118,857.63 euros for the interpretation center of the Arlanza cloisters.
• Calzada de Valdunciel Town Hall (Salamanca): 116,772.41 euros for the ethnographic museum, based on a project of 252,225 euros.
• Mombuey Town Hall (Zamora): 112,601.97 euros to convert the old medical center into a pilgrims’ hostel for the Camino Sanabrés.
• Burgohondo Town Hall (Ávila): 110,516.74 euros for the Puente Nueva nature trail.

The remaining grants are distributed among Bonilla de la Sierra (98,104 euros), Sequeros (96,000), Atapuerca (48,000), Sancedo (42,408.78), Villada (40,591.26), Melgar de Arriba (32,040), Villalpando (31,806.58), Arenas de San Pedro (29,153.12), Palazuelos de Eresma (24,000.26), Regumiel de la Sierra (20,400), Carrión de los Condes (19,069.60), and Lastras de Cuéllar (17,520).

Signage, digitalization and heritage

A large part of the subsidized projects focus on tourist signage and the digital interpretation of heritage: smart signage networks in Sancedo, avatar platforms for Melgar de Arriba, virtual reconstruction of the walls of Bonilla de la Sierra, video mapping in Carrión de los Condes, and the renovation of the trail network in Arenas de San Pedro. Others opt for the rehabilitation of buildings for tourist use, such as the hostel in Vega de Espinareda, the interpretation center in Lerma, or the pilgrims’ hostel in Mombuey.

100% advance and tight deadlines

The beneficiary entities will receive an advance of 100% of the grant following the favorable report from the Regional Ministry of Economy and Finance dated June 10, 2026. The actions must be executed between January 1 and November 30, 2026, and the supporting documentation must be submitted by December 31, 2026.

The order denies the application of the Bonsái Burgos Cultural Association, as it does not hold beneficiary status, and those of other entities that did not reach the minimum score, including those of Fresno el Viejo, Miranda del Castañar, Carrocera, Trigueros del Valle, Oencia, Villablino, and Tordesillas, all with 48 points or fewer. Additionally, it declares the withdrawal of the projects from Antigüedad (Palencia) and La Horcajada (Ávila). Against the resolution, which exhausts the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León, based in Valladolid, within two months.

The distribution confirms the weight of tourism as a means of financing for the smallest municipalities: almost all the grants go to towns of fewer than 20,000 inhabitants which, with limited budgets, depend on these lines to rehabilitate buildings, signpost resources, and create tourist products. The calendar, however, is demanding: city councils must execute and justify the works in barely fourteen months from the opening of the period.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 211, October 30, 2026, section I.C.3, pp. 84-116 (official reference: BOCYL-D-30102026-211-20).