Cantabria will subsidize up to 65% of investments by its tourism companies

The Government of Cantabria will subsidize up to 65% of the investments made by tourism companies in the community, with a limit of 100,000 euros per beneficiary and establishment. Order CTD/3/2026, of September 18, published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria (BOC) No. 185, of September 25, 2026, establishes the regulatory bases for these grants, which will be awarded on a competitive basis. The regulation comes into force on September 26, the day after its publication.

The order is signed in Santander by the Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Sport, Luis V. Martínez Abad, and replaces Order CTD/6/2024, of April 16, which is expressly repealed. It is issued under the exclusive competence in tourism of article 24.20 of the Statute of Autonomy for Cantabria and article 5 of Law 5/1999, of March 24, on the Regulation of Tourism in Cantabria, and is processed in accordance with Law 10/2006, of July 17, on Subsidies of Cantabria.

The grants are considered de minimis and are subject to Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 of December 13, 2023. The instructing body is the General Directorate of Tourism and Hospitality, through the Tourism Activities Service, and the resolution corresponds to the head of the Department competent in Tourism matters.

Sectors and access requirements

Tourism companies that carry out any of the eligible actions and that, at the start of the application period, meet these requirements may apply:

• Definitive registration of the establishment in the General Registry of Tourism Companies of Cantabria in the name of the applicant.
• For travel agencies, professional congress organizers, reservation centers, and active tourism companies, the definitive registration of the company is sufficient.
• Registration in the corresponding Social Security scheme and the Tax on Economic Activities.
• For grants exceeding 30,000 euros, accreditation of compliance with the payment deadlines of Law 3/2004, of December 29, against delinquency.

Public entities and companies with public funding, local entities, and companies in crisis according to Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 are excluded. The covered sectors are tourist accommodations, restaurants, cafeterias, bars, tourism camps, travel agencies, reservation centers, professional congress organizers, and active tourism companies.

Amounts and training incentives

The maximum intensity of the aid will not exceed 65% of the subsidized investment, and the base amount will be 35% of the eligible cost. The caps are:

• 100,000 euros per beneficiary and establishment.
• 200,000 euros per beneficiary for the total of establishments.
• Minimum eligible investment of 3,000 euros, excluding VAT, per applicant and establishment.

In companies with more than one worker, the aid is increased by an additional 10% for each of these requirements: that some worker possesses the diploma in Digital Competencies Training in Tourism (150 hours, within the framework of Component 19 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan) or any of the professional certificates HOTR0108, HOTR0408, HOTR0109 and HOTR0509. In the case of self-employed individuals without workers, the additional increase is 15%.

Maintenance and conservation costs, taxes, financial, notary and consultancy expenses, VAT, and investments in tourist accommodation housing are excluded. The investment must have been carried out and paid for in the two calendar years prior to the closing of the application period.

Deadlines, processing and appeals

Applications, one per establishment, are submitted within the period set in the corresponding call for applications, which shall be at least fifteen business days, through the Common Electronic Registry of the Administration of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria. The documentation includes a descriptive report, a numbered list of invoices and proof of payment, photographic support, a municipal works license or a responsible declaration, and Annexes I and II.

The award is resolved by temporal priority until the budget credit is exhausted. The maximum period to resolve and publish is three months from the end of the application period, and its lapse without resolution legitimizes the understanding that they have been dismissed by administrative silence. An optional appeal for reversal may be filed against the resolution within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the High Court of Justice of Cantabria within two months.

Failure to comply with the obligations may lead to the loss of the right to payment or to reimbursement, and the subsidized assets must be used for the granted purpose for at least five years if they are registerable in a public registry and two years in all other cases.

The order arrives at a key moment for the Cantabrian tourism sector, which will be able to finance accessibility, energy efficiency, digitalization, and modernization works for facilities with up to two-thirds of the cost. The text also rewards the qualification of the staff, by linking part of the incentive to digital training and professional certificates in the sector.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 185, of September 25, 2026, Section I, pp. 47044-47056 (official reference: CVE-2026-7408).