Tourism allocates €100,000 to digitise Betancuria’s tourism and heritage experience

The Canary Islands Government’s Department of Tourism and Employment has awarded Betancuria Town Council a specifically named direct grant of €100,000 to fund the measures planned under the Historic Capital of the Canary Islands project. The grant’s main aim is to modernise the municipality’s tourism infrastructure through the use of innovative technology.

The initiative comprises two related measures. First, information sculptures featuring interactive explanations using augmented reality will be installed. Second, two virtual tourist offices will be set up to give visitors independent, swift digital access to the area’s cultural, heritage and landscape offering.

Jéssica de León, the Canary Islands Government’s Minister for Tourism and Employment, highlighted the value of this investment for the municipality with the smallest population in Fuerteventura and the Canary Islands. “Places across the archipelago such as Betancuria not only allow us to show visitors our history, recalling that in the early 15th century the town was the first capital of the Canary Islands, but also add value to our destination as one of Spain’s Most Beautiful Villages. That is why it is important for it to receive the fullest possible institutional support,” she said.

De León also highlighted tourism activity in rural areas such as Betancuria, “as it offers visitors another way to enjoy nature while contributing to the municipality’s sustainable development: it not only has a positive impact on local economic activity, but also promotes the revival of villages and their landscapes”.

The minister also stressed the regional department’s work to “achieve a smart, inclusive and sustainable tourism model that showcases the islands’ heritage and cultural wealth with the utmost respect for their historical legacy”.

Betancuria Mayor Enrique Cerdeña said: “This grant will enable us to develop a project focused on maintaining and showcasing our traditions, while bringing our history closer to tourists, students and residents.”

“Our aim is to make Betancuria’s historical, cultural and ethnographic heritage known, so that visitors can travel back in time and discover what the town was like several centuries ago,” Cerdeña said. He thanked the department for its “inter-administrative cooperation, particularly given that we are a town council with very limited resources”.

The project is aligned with the Canary Islands Strategy for Island Tourism Infrastructure, which aims to improve the destination’s physical and functional infrastructure, promote accessibility and foster high-quality experiential tourism.

Betancuria Town Council has until 31 December 2027 to complete the project.

The investment in the historic town reinforces the Canary Islands Government’s Department of Tourism and Employment’s commitment to digital transformation on the island of Fuerteventura. It adds to other recent projects, including the installation in Puerto del Rosario, through the public company Gesprotur, of a network of 23 smart tourist information kiosks equipped with QR technology.