The total budget for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth, and Sports amounts to nearly 81.5 million euros, an increase of 3.75%.
CARTAGENA (MURCIA), 2 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Budget Project for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth, and Sports for 2025, presented by the counselor, Carmen Conesa, at the Regional Assembly on Wednesday, allocates over 31 million euros to tourism.
The goal is to reach a record number of 2 million visitors and 6 million overnight stays annually, focusing on sustainable sector development by enhancing accommodation quality, providing training for the growing workforce, and boosting innovation, technology, and promotion.
The total amount allocated for the Ministry’s accounts is 81,491,615 euros, representing a 3.75% increase from the previous year.
In the tourism sector, priorities include implementing the First Regional Tourism Pact; providing direct assistance for the modernization of 52 tourism accommodations, totaling 7.6 million euros; and overall promotion of the Murcia Region as a tourist destination, with a dedicated budget of 10.9 million euros.
Furthermore, to continue growing in a solid and balanced manner, as stated by Conesa, nearly three million is allocated for infrastructure, 2.30 million for innovation, and 1.2 million for training.
In addition to the 25,420,282 euros available for the Tourism Institute in 2025, which has doubled its budget in three years, there are 6,091,400 euros allocated to the General Directorate of Competitiveness and Quality in Tourism, focused on sustainability, energy efficiency, accessibility, and sector modernization.
The counselor emphasized that the tourism boom directly translates to wealth for the region, with tourism contributing 11.9% to the regional GDP, amounting to 4,150 million euros, surpassing the 2019 figure by 450 million. This has led to the registration of 285 new tourism businesses in 2024 and the sector’s overall dynamism.
She also highlighted that tourism seasonality is becoming less pronounced, with the recent example of May 2025 seeing a record high of 68,619 workers affiliated to Social Security in the tourism sector in the Region of Murcia, surpassing even the figures from the summer of 2024.
SYNERGIES BETWEEN TOURISM AND CULTURE
Regarding culture, synergies with tourism are established through the promotion of the ‘Festivals of the Murcia Region’ brand, which supports and promotes public and private festivals, estimated to have a 40 million euros impact this year.
In addition to festival and live music support, the Institute of Cultural Industries and Arts, with a budget of nearly 12.8 million euros, also backs audiovisual, performing arts, and visual arts sectors with specific strategies agreed upon with professionals, promoting regional talent and enhancing cultural access for all citizens in the region.
As part of the support for regional talent, in addition to specific cultural measures by the ICA, there is a 200,000 euros investment in emerging talent through the Youth General Directorate’s ‘Estrenarte’ festival.
Similarly, sports talent has its initiatives, such as 350,000 euros for high-performance athletes in the Region of Murcia and 150,000 euros for high-level athletes with Olympic prospects for the Los Angeles Games.
In the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, managing a budget of just over 17.2 million euros in 2025, there are two strategic projects with significant impact: the rehabilitation of Cartagena’s Cine Central and the archaeological site of San Esteban in Murcia.
The budget for the General Directorate of Sports is 9,995,570 euros, with highlights including grants to Sports Federations in the Region of Murcia amounting to 1.5 million euros, 550,000 euros for relevant sports events, and over a million euros for teams and athletes participating in the top national categories.
In this department of the Ministry, the budget for sports facilities is 1,170,174 euros, with a significant portion of 800,000 euros going to municipalities for improving their facilities.
Finally, the Youth General Directorate will have nearly 5.9 million euros to continue implementing the ‘Opportunities’ Plan in collaboration with municipalities, executing activities such as monitor training courses, leisure and diversity activities, creating spaces with psychologists aimed at promoting and preventing mental health issues among young people, and improving municipal facilities to become youth hostels.
Additionally, within the Plan, other initiatives focus on employment, leisure, and European mobility. These include the Recognize Association Project to promote youth employment and volunteering, grants to driving schools to fund driver’s licenses for young people with a budget of 300,000 euros, support for young participants in the Eurodisea program, showcasing young artists through ‘Estrenarte,’ and a subsidy to the CERMI for inclusive leisure activities for young people.
Moreover, the Region will host the national final of the E-sport Video Games League, with an investment of 150,000 euros.
PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS
Regarding the presented budgets, regional socialist deputy Miguel Ortega criticized the regional government for cutting 2.5 million euros in youth aid while increasing the advertising budget by 70,000 euros. He expressed concerns that they are trying to cover up their management shortcomings with institutional advertising.
From the Socialist Parliamentary Group, there is a call for the López Miras government to pay more attention to tourism, as the budget allocates only 4.6 million euros to tourism with its own funds, representing a 22.5% reduction from 2024.
On the other hand, the Mixed Group deputy, José Luis Álvarez-Castellanos, expressed dissatisfaction that only three minutes were dedicated to the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and called for a more robust budgetary commitment.
During his intervention, VOX deputy in the Regional Assembly of Murcia, Ignacio Arcas, demanded that the regional government ensure legal certainty for cultural operators organizing festivals in the region.
Lastly, the regional deputy of the Popular Party, María de los Ángeles Román, highlighted that regional budgets are a useful and transformative tool to consolidate tourism as an economic, social, and cultural engine in the Region.
«It’s not just about numbers but a strategic investment to continue driving tourism growth in the Region of Murcia, consolidating what works and improving where there is still untapped potential,» she explained.
FUENTE
