Mérida allocates two million euros to commerce, hospitality, and street vending

The Mérida City Council has announced the “Stimulus plan for consumption in retail trade and maintenance of freelancers and workers in the hospitality, tourism, and street vending sector for the year 2026”, endowed with two million euros. The regulatory bases and the extract of the call are published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz number 184, corresponding to Friday, September 25, 2026, through announcements 3709/2026 (extract) and 3715/2026 (regulatory bases). The call is processed under a direct grant regime through an open call, and applications will be resolved in strict order of entry into the municipal electronic registry.

The Mérida City Council, through its Delegation of Trade and Entrepreneurship, justifies the aid in the context of inflationary tensions, the increase in operating and energy costs, accelerated digitalization, and the change in consumption habits facing these sectors. The corporation acts in the exercise of its own competencies regarding fairs, supplies, markets, and street vending, in accordance with article 25.1.i) of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime.

The call is governed by Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Law on Subsidies; Royal Decree 887/2006; Law 6/2011, of March 23, on Subsidies of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, and the General Subsidy Ordinance of the Mérida City Council, published in the BOP on June 22, 2010 (announcement 5852, bulletin number 117). The file is listed in the National Subsidy Database with the identifier BDNS 931020.

Two lines of aid and distribution of credit

The total amount amounts to 2,000,000.00 euros, charged to the budget item 2026 4200 48007 “Consumption vouchers for the promotion of local trade”. The credit is initially distributed into two lines of one million euros each, on an estimated basis and with the possibility of compensation between both; in case of simultaneous insufficiency, the deficit of line 1 will be addressed first and then that of line 2, with pro-rating among beneficiaries if the credit is insufficient.

• Line 1: stimulus for consumption in retail trade through vouchers redeemable as a discount on the final purchase.
• Line 2: maintenance of freelancers and workers in hospitality, tourism, and street vending.

Amounts, beneficiaries, and requirements

Line 1 grants 2,000.00 euros per establishment, equivalent to 100 vouchers of 20 euros, applicable only to purchases with a minimum gross amount of 40.00 euros. Beneficiaries must use the Consume Mérida application, maintain prices during the campaign, and keep the vouchers with their invoices; vouchers for products under 40 euros will have a consumption deadline until June 30, 2027.

Line 2 grants direct aid of up to 1,500.00 euros per beneficiary, with the following scale based on staff:

• Self-employed and 1 to 2 workers: 500.00 euros.
• 3 to 6 workers: 1,000.00 euros.
• More than 7 workers: 1,500.00 euros.

Eligible beneficiaries may be small SMEs and micro-enterprises according to Regulation (EU) number 651/2014, engaged in retail trade, hospitality, on-site or takeaway food services—including churrerías—, travel agencies, official guides, accommodations with a center of employment in Mérida, retail sale of tobacco (CNAE 47.26), and street vending at the fairground market. Activity and tax domicile in Mérida, registration in the municipal registry “DeMérida”, a valid opening license, registration in the Economic Activities Tax and the self-employed regime, and being up to date with tax and Social Security obligations are required. Public administrations and non-profit entities are excluded.

Deadline, processing, and justification

The application period begins the day after the publication of the summary in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz and extends for ten business days. Applications are submitted through the electronic office sede.merida.es and addressed to the Trade Delegation. The eligible period for line 2 spans from January 1 to July 31, 2026.

Applications will be evaluated by a Valuation and Monitoring Commission, chaired by the delegated councilor for Trade, with representatives from Trade and Tourism and a municipal secretary. The resolution corresponds to the Local Government Board, with a maximum period of one month from submission; administrative silence constitutes a rejection. The justification of the aid will conclude on January 15, 2027. The aid is compatible with other subsidies except when they overlap on the same expenditure category. The guidelines are signed by the Delegated Councilor for Trade and Entrepreneurship, Laura del Carmen Iglesias Cano.

The plan arrives at a time of pressure on small businesses and the hospitality sector in Mérida, with rising energy and operating costs. The two million euros seek to sustain local employment and self-employment, reactivate consumption in the urban center and neighborhoods, and provide immediate liquidity to freelancers and micro-enterprises, although the distribution by order of entry and the budget limit condition actual access to the aid.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, no. 184, September 25, 2026, Local Administration, City Council of Mérida (official reference: Announcement 3709/2026 and Announcement 3715/2026; BDNS 931020).