THE BALEARIC ISLANDS TO INTRODUCE NEW CIRCULARITY LAW 
The Balearic Islands has presented a new law requiring tourism businesses to implement pioneering sustainability measures. The Government of the Balearic Islands will invest 55 million euros in an effort to become the first circular destination in the world. Part of this plan requires all tourism businesses to have a circularity plan encompassing aspects like waste, water use, and clean energy. Every hotel must install water-saving devices in bathrooms, prohibit single-use amenities and change oil boilers for gas or electric ones, emitting 57,600 kilos of CO2 less per establishment each year. Hotels must also install elevating beds for service staff in order to avoid workplace accidents. www.sustainableislands.travel 

CANTABRIA TO LAUNCH SEVEN TOURISM SUSTAINABILITY PLANS BY 2024 
Cantabria will be launching seven Tourism Sustainability Plans by 2024. These will transform the tourism model and allow the region to become more sustainable and modern. There will be an investment of 22.6 million euros into these projects and it will benefit over 50 municipalities in Cantabria. Five of these projects, approved in 2021, will be fully financed by the NextGenerationEU funds. One of the projects supported by the Government of Cantabria aims to restore the surroundings around the La Engaña tunnel. The project will create bike paths, walking trails, a hostel and other infrastructure that will help to boost the economy of Vegas de Pas and other municipalities of the Valles Pasiegos. The other projects include the creation of a cross-country skiing circuit in Liébana, the upgrade of the Senda del Asón and the transition to digital content for tourism resources. 
http://turismososteniblecantabria.com/ 
http://www.municipiossostenibles.com/ 

SANT ANTONI, IBIZA, TO RECEIVE 3 MILLION EUROS TO DEVELOP ITS SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN 

Sant Antoni's Town Council has been awarded funds by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for the development of its Tourism Sustainability Plan. This series of developments will be carried out from 2022 until 2024 and will include the pedestrianisation of streets in the Old Town, improvements to the water supply and sewer systems, the installation of air quality sensors and changes to the supply chain.  An investment of 550,000 euros will go towards the enhancement of urban areas to ultimately enhance Sant Antoni's competitiveness as a tourist destination. 

https://visit.santantoni.net/en/ 

THE REGION OF MURCIA LAUNCHES SIX NEW SUSTAINBLE TOURISM EXPERIENCES     Sierra Espuña Nature Park and its surrounding area, Murcia's prime ecotourist destination, have launched six new sustainable tourism experiences. These have been designed with visitors of all different ages and physical conditions in mind, offering distinctive ways in which to enjoy the fresh air and direct contact with nature. The six ecotourism experiences will allow visitors to uncover the historic forest full of traditions, culture, and flavours. Itineraries with the following themes have been created: Adventure; Among Birds; On Wheels; Panoramic Moment; Flavour Route; and Paths. These provide something for everyone, whether it is taking in the breathtaking views of the park while paragliding or sampling local organic produce.  
www.murciaturistica.es 

MALLORCA CONTINUES TO DEVELOP THE 'MALLORCA SUSTAINABLE TOURISM OBSERVATORY' SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE  
The Mallorca Sustainable Tourism Observatory is an initiative under development by the Mallorca Tourism Foundation to protect the island's socio-cultural heritage through technological advancement. Both the observatory and technological platform will launch in March 2022, with the goal of generating intelligence to guide public and private sector decisions which take sustainable principles into account. The project will monitor the eco-environmental and social impact of tourism, analyse new sources of information, and bring about cooperative learning. This will facilitate data-led decision making, enabling policies to be designed based on sustainable development criteria. The project aims to position Mallorca as a leading destination for its data-based tourism management and sustainability strategy.  
Infomallorca.net 

MALAGA AGREES TO ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION PLEDGE  
Malaga aims to position itself as a one of the Spanish leaders in sustainability through their new pledges and initiatives. Malaga has committed to initiatives such as those developed by Empresa Malagueña de Transportes, which has pledged that all its transport will be electric by 2035 and is currently testing more sustainable recharging system alternatives. The region is also working on more effective ways to separate waste, as mentioned in the Malaga Sustainable City plan.www.malagaturismo.com/en 

DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS  

MADRID LAUNCHES APP TO MANAGE THE SUSTAINABLE IMPACT OF EVENTS 
Madrid is developing Platform PLUS, an innovative sustainability tool available in both Spanish and English for events and meetings. This pioneering digital MICE service from the Madrid Convention Bureau will help event organisers manage the sustainable impact of their events. PLUS generates individualised reports ahead of meetings taking place, with specific recommendations for minimising impact and implementing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. It connects organisers and local organisations in Madrid to bring about events with a lasting social, environmental, and cultural positive impact on society. Thanks to this tool, the organiser can access reports adapted to the individual event, considering characteristics such as venue, staff, and catering services. PLUS also includes a database of sustainable meeting resources and providers, and after the event can generate a report calculating the C02 emissions produced. Find out more here. 

A Madrid MICE Guide has also been published to offer tools to transform professional events with sustainable actions. Using renewable energies, recycling, hiring staff with disabilities and reducing food waste are some of the specific proposals included in the guide, which caters for hotels, restaurants, caterers, service providers, event agencies and travel agencies.  
www.esmadrid.com/en  

CANTABRIA LAUNCHES DIGITAL APP TO PROMOTE THE CAMINO LEBANIEGO  
The Camino Lebaniego is a pilgrimage route recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It stretches for 75 km and takes its travellers from San Vicente de la Barquera, located just off the northern part of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, to the monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana. 

It links the northern part of the Camino de Santiago to the Camino Frances, and is renowned for being a green route, with high ecological value. These factors have both contributed to the rise in number of people who go on the pilgrimage. Due to this increase in travellers an interactive map has been developed that can be found on their website, that makes it easier for visitors to travel responsibly and discover the different activities along the route. The new Atlantic CultureScape project seeks to preserve the local culture and activities associated with the route and celebrate the Lebaniego Jubilee Year 2023-24. http://turismososteniblecantabria.com/ 

ALICANTE LAUNCHES AN APP TO MAKE TRAVEL MORE INCLUSIVE  
The Tourism Board of Alicante is partnering with the company PASSPORTERAPP to produce a travel app to provide more in-depth travel information to tourists. The app will also include a section called "Alicante Fácil" that will feature content for people with reading comprehension difficulties. This guide has been produced by the APSA association to help make tourism more inclusive. The guides are available in Spanish, Valencian and English. 

NAVILENS SYSTEMS DEVELOPED IN ALICANTE TO SUPPORT VISUALLY IMPAIRED TRAVELLERS  
Another development, the Navilens system, produced for use in Alicante, facilitates the mobility of people with reduced or no vision. The system consists of labels with colour codes similar to barcodes or QR codes that are placed around the city. These codes are read by the camera on a mobile phone and information from each tag is read aloud. The advantage of this app over other similar options is that these codes can be read from much greater distances. It has already been installed on El Postiguet beach, making it the first smart beach in the country, and it provides written or spoken information in 33 languages. This system has also been incorporated on the Island of Tabarca.  
www.alicanteturismo.com 

ACCOMMODATION 

EUSKADI MAINTAINS ITS POSITION AS REGION WITH HIGHEST NUMBER OF TOURISM ACCOMMODATION SITES WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATE 
With 35 tourist accommodation sites accredited with the EU ecolabel, Euskadi tops the Spanish rankings, and is one of the leading European destinations for this type of infrastructure. The 35 properties in the Basque Country with this environmental certification make up 69% of the total 51 accreditations of this kind in the whole of Spain, reflecting Euskadi's commitment to sustainability in the sector. 11 of the EU eco-friendly accommodations are found in Álava, 15 in Bizkaia and 9 in Gipuzkoa.  
https://tourism.euskadi.eus/en/ 

To find out more about other sustainable tourism initiatives in Spain, please click here.

-ENDS- 

Images are available here. 

For more information on Spain as a visitor destination, please visit www.spain.info or contact Spain@wearelotus.co.uk