Arnuero increases the pace of implementation of the Tourism Sustainability Plan, which is being carried out as a result of the signing of the agreement between the Arnuero Town Hall and the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Innovation, Transport and Trade of the Government of Cantabria for the execution of the PSTD titled “Ecoparque 3.0, Vitamina Territory”, financed with Next Generation funds from the European Union through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Government of Spain.

One of the projects included in Arnuero’s PSTD is the Climate Change Adaptation Plan, the implementation contract for which was awarded last April to the Cantabrian consultancy BRUMA Sustainability and Citizen Participation. With a sum of €14,907 (VAT included) and an execution period of 8 months, and for which documentation and diagnostic work has already begun.

In order to develop climate change adaptation plans at municipal level, there are a multitude of approaches and methodologies. In Arnuero’s case, a combination of the methodologies set out in the “Guide for the preparation of Local Climate Change Adaptation Plans” from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the “Guide for the submission of reports under the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy” from the Office of the Covenant of Mayors has been used.

Among the different sources consulted in the diagnostic phase, AdapteCCa stands out—a web platform on climate change adaptation in Spain promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation and the Spanish Climate Change Office (OECC). According to the data obtained, over the last 50 years there has been an increase in Arnuero of 1.1 degrees Celsius in average minimum temperatures and of 0.2 in the case of maximums. There has also been an increase in the duration of heatwaves, while no significant changes have been detected in rainfall.

Bearing in mind that this is a municipality whose population is gradually ageing, and whose economy is based on the services sector, with a very significant weight of tourism activity, in the coming months those areas and sectors whose adaptation to the effects of Climate Change is a priority will be identified. Based on that information, specific measures will be identified to improve the municipality’s capacity to adapt, with an emphasis on protecting the population, infrastructure and natural resources.

Construction begins on execution of Act 4 of Axis 1 for Green and Sustainable Transition, through the construction of a park-and-ride car park which, together with the creation of a cycling area and electric vehicle charging bays, will represent an improvement in sustainable mobility, helping to reduce the pressure of vehicles in the busiest areas.

The site will have a single vehicular entrance, from which internal circulation is arranged by means of two main longitudinal roads. These roads provide connections with secondary roads laid out transversely, where the car parking spaces are set in battery formation. All internal roads will be one-way, with the exception of the access section, which will be bidirectional to facilitate vehicle entry and exit. This arrangement ensures smooth, safe circulation within the car park.

The land on which the project is carried out has a slight downward slope towards Juan Hormaechea Street. For this reason, the car park is arranged in different levels in the form of terraces, which makes it possible to sensibly reduce the slope of the secondary roads and the parking areas.

This arrangement improves the functionality of the space and allows the embankments generated between levels to be used for planting trees and shrubs, thereby contributing to the landscape integration of the whole. In addition, the presence of these intermediate embankments breaks up the car park’s visual continuity, reducing its impact on the urban environment.

As for pavements, the circulation roads are planned to be laid in asphalt agglomerate, while most parking spaces will be formed using ecological concrete paving blocks (cellular/trellis grid). This type of pavement allows grass to grow between its openings, improving the car park’s environmental integration and favouring the natural infiltration of rainwater into the ground.

A key aspect of this car park is its naturalisation, designed to reduce its visual impact and promote its integration into the surrounding environment. Arranging the car park in terraces helps to cut the continuous perception of the paved space, and the embankments created between levels make it possible to plant grass and indigenous trees and shrubs, adding landscape and environmental value.

In addition, numerous planted garden islands have been designed between the main roads and the rows of parking spaces, with the aim of introducing vegetation in an orderly manner throughout the entire site. These green spaces will allow the planting of medium-sized trees and the spread of grassed swards, creating shade, improving thermal comfort, and reinforcing the natural character of the whole.

In the north-west area of the car park, a larger green surface has been planned, which will act as a vegetation screen to visually separate the car park from the adjoining urban grid, thereby improving its landscape integration and reducing any possible negative impact on the residential area.

Another important aspect of the car park design is drainage management, conceived using sustainability criteria and minimising impact on the sewer network. A significant part of the site includes permeable surfaces, such as the landscaped areas and the parking areas with ecological concrete paving blocks, which allows natural infiltration of rainwater into the ground.

As a complementary project, the installation of a selective waste collection point is planned by placing container covers made from recycled plastic. These elements will be used to house the container types currently existing in the area, concentrating them into a single ordered and accessible location. The container covers have a wood-effect finish, enabling better landscape integration into the surroundings and helping to reduce their visual impact.

New sports area. Pump track

A pump track circuit is planned, consisting of a single medium-to-low difficulty route with a length of 82 metres. To create the circuit, the route is approximately excavated, filling in any areas needed to achieve the desired shape. The resulting surface is profiled mechanically or manually, and then a second manual profiling is carried out with natural sub-base material (subsoil/granular aggregate), with an average thickness of 20 cm, with which the final geometry of the pump track is defined. On top of the already profiled and compacted natural sub-base surface, a wearing course layer of bituminous mixture type AC8 SURF 60/70D is laid, with a thickness of 6 cm.

The pump track area is connected to the public road network via an access path designed specifically to ensure comfortable and safe pedestrian circulation. This access road, with a concrete pavement, will be 2 metres wide and will include public lighting, as will the pump track area itself, which is provided with an appropriate lighting system to allow it to be used under conditions of low visibility and to reinforce safety in the surrounding area.

Since this is an open space, naturalisation has been planned through various landscaping interventions. Throughout the site, indigenous trees and shrubs will be planted, together with decorative shrubs and ornamental plants, which will add colour variety and seasonal character to the whole. To complete the works, a layer of topsoil will be spread and grass will be planted, thereby promoting the proper integration of the pump track into the natural and urban environment.

Electric car charging station

The project includes the installation of two new charging points for electric vehicles, located in the northern area of the car park. This project aims to provide service for users of the car park itself, encouraging the use of sustainable vehicles. This intervention forms part of Act 2.5 of the Tourism Sustainability Plan in Destination (PSTD), titled “Installation of electric vehicle charging stations in public car parks”. This act has a 100% climate label (073), as it is a measure directly aimed at promoting electric mobility and reducing emissions associated with conventional transport.

New sustainable cycling mobility area

With the aim of encouraging the use of bicycles both among tourists and among local residents, a new area specifically intended for this sustainable mode of transport is planned within the car park site. This area will include the following elements: parking zones equipped with inverted “U” shaped bicycle stands, manufactured in stainless steel to ensure durability and strength; a charging point for electric bicycles; and a basic repair area that will allow users to carry out adjustments and minor maintenance interventions.

The Town Hall of Arnuero, in implementation of the Tourism Sustainability Plan, has proceeded with the contracting of the preparation of the technical project document required for the tendering of the works to remodel the green area located next to the Town Hall in Arnuero.

On 3 April, the PSTD Management Board «Ecoparque 3.0 Territorio vitamina» submitted the justification report on the need to commission the preparation of a technical works project for the construction of a public recreational and sports area in Arnuero.

The contracting of this project, funded with Next Generation funds, is one of the actions included, as sub-measure 2 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Mechanism, and is covered by the following lines of action:

Priority Area 4. Action 2: Public recreational and sports areas

Priority Area 2. Action 5: Installation of electric vehicle charging stations in public car parks.

The Town Hall of Arnuero, aware of the value that recreational areas have in promoting social cohesion in addition to directly contributing to the encouragement of learning and cognitive development and of physical activity and recreation among residents, proposes the transformation and revitalisation of this public space.

This new recreational and sports facility, which will be named “Parque Eugenio Fernández Quintanilla” in tribute to the eminent local architect, will be fully modernised through the installation of new facilities, inclusive play elements and adapted street furniture.

The project also provides for the installation of two charging points for electric vehicles in the car park located next to the “Eugenio Fernández Quintanilla Recreational Area”. Its location next to the Town Hall in Arnuero responds to the objective of promoting the use of electric vehicles among residents and visitors. At this site, the project develops line of action 2.5 Installation of electric vehicle charging stations in public car parks under the PSTD, which contributes to the climate transition by improving the municipality’s environmental quality through the reduction of CO2 emissions it entails.

The Town Hall has already started the tendering procedure to contract the works, which it hopes can be initiated next summer, with a base tender budget of €230,157.25 and an execution period of 5 months.

The project, included in the PST “Ecoparque 3.0, Territorio Vitamina” and funded with Next Generation funds, has a budget of €190,000.

Aware of the great potential of this facility and that it can offer visitors a much more complete experience, the Arnuero Tourism Sustainability Plan has proposed several actions which, together, aim to transform this Ecoparque de Trasmiera centre into a must-visit in Cantabria and Northern Spain.

The planned activities are, together with this immersive experience, intended to expand the current museum concept: the creation of an Escape Room in which players will need to use their skills to save the planet before its final destruction, and the acquisition of outdoor “escape” game boxes, especially aimed at families and school groups to play in nature.

The first of the tenders is one aimed at expanding and digitising the museum space that exists today, with an installation that will offer an immersive experience in the so-called glass room on the ground floor, under the conceptual proposal “The Power of the Tides”, dedicated to explaining the tides—how they work, how they affect people and, above all, to suggesting that an intertidal zone may have been the place where life first appeared. After the immersive experience, visitors will be given the opportunity to observe the salt marsh from this privileged viewpoint.

The proposal “The Power of the Tides”, besides being an exciting experience, is intended to have an outreach and awareness-raising purpose; to this end it will be divided into three sections: under the influence of the moon, the origin of life and the salvation of the planet. The first part will contain information relating to the moon’s power in the tide phenomenon, and then it will show visitors the environmental importance of the intertidal spaces so characteristic of our marshlands—so much so as to support the theory that life, as we know it today, may have emerged in an intertidal zone. The experience will end with a visualisation of the evolution of these spaces and, in general, of the planet due to ongoing human aggression, so as to overwhelm the audience and prompt in them a necessary change of attitude regarding their environmental awareness.

The tender has been published on the State procurement platform and is currently open, so that companies specialising in the development of museum-related resources can submit a Technical Report of their executive development proposal for this initial script, within the established budget limit of 190,000 euros.

The project is part of the digitisation pillar of the Arnuero Tourism Sustainability Plan for the Destination “Ecoparque 3.0, territorio vitamina” (PSTD), funded entirely by the contribution of the Regional Government of Cantabria through Next Generation funds, which come from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Mechanism. It is included, as sub-measure 2 of the PRTR, in Component 14 Investment 1.

This summer the Town Hall has launched, with notable success, a digital interactive game for the hospitality industry

• The interactive game has been created by the Cantabrian company “Cultropía”, and is intended to entertain hospitality customers by learning about the municipality’s cultural and natural heritage
• A simple game that is developed digitally from a few basic paper tablecloths provided to customers and that links to the digital gymkhanas carried out across the area.

The project falls under the digitalisation pillar of the Tourism Sustainability Plan in Destination in Arnuero “Ecoparque 3.0, vitamina territory” (PSTD), funded entirely through the contribution of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria with Next Generation funds, coming from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Mechanism. It is included, as sub-measure 2 of the PRTR, in Component 14, Investment 1.

The project has developed a web app that allows users to play from a Smartphone or Tablet without needing to download any specific app and without identity verification requirements or registrations. The game is designed to meet the following objectives:

– To facilitate knowledge of the culture, nature, history, characters and gastronomy of the municipality of Arnuero.

– To provide catering and dining establishments with an element of entertainment, especially suitable for peak times when service waiting times can become long.

– This is a simple, intuitive game suitable for all audiences, especially for family play.

– The game mechanics are based on classic board-game elements and supports (e.g. “The Goose Game”) that are manageable, straightforward, and with which users can easily become familiar.

– The game is carried out entirely online, with the only exception of the physical support, which consists of a recycled and recyclable paper tablecloth that will be provided by establishments free of charge. That tablecloth will include a QR code that will take the user to the game hosted in the web app

– The design of the questions has been supervised by the Ecoparque de Trasmiera team, and covers cultural, natural and tourism-related content about the municipality, making it easy to solve in order to facilitate the game’s development.

The game’s continuity is ensured through its simple updates.

The contract includes maintenance of the IT systems for one year from the final receipt of the same, and will also include a renewal/expansion of questions for the summer season 2025 so that after the summer season 2024, any modifications necessary will be made to achieve a refreshed and more appealing operation, and so on in subsequent years.

An impact of over 100,000 people at a cost of €10,000

The design of the game, which starts from a route through the Ecoparque de Trasmiera drawn on a recycled paper tablecloth, has cost €10,000, and is intended for several people to play together who share a table, either together or separately. A total of 50,000 tablecloths were distributed during the summer season 2024, which, with a simple average of 3 people per table, would imply a reach well over 100,000 users.

In addition, among the players who completed the game and decided to take part in the weekly draw, more than 40 gifts were offered by the hospitality establishments that took part in the project—ranging from stays, meals and breakfasts to other types of hospitality product gifts.

This Plan includes around 50 actions that will address the various pillars of the Tourism Sustainability Strategy to move towards a more environmentally responsible development model. To this end, the Green Transition Axis of the PSTD includes the creation of a major green infrastructure network, which will form a network of Centres, footpaths, recreational areas, areas for physical activity and places for contemplation. A total connection with nature, to explore on foot or by bike.

With the actions of the Energy Efficiency Axis, Arnuero is intended to be transformed into a «NEUTRAL DESTINATION», where the major commitment to sustainable mobility stands out. This will play a decisive role in how people move around the municipality, and in controlling the territory’s carrying capacity through an interconnected system of urban and deterrent car parks. This new mobility model will be accompanied by an important process of digitalisation; an axis that will make it possible to improve communication and information for residents and visitors, facilitating access to car parks and services in a controlled manner and minimising overcrowding.

Another commitment to improve leisure activities that help connect visitors with the area will be through gamification: digital gamifying experiences, augmented reality, Escape Rooms and other games based on the story, culture and the local area will keep the public entertained while they learn about authentic things in the municipality.

In the Competitiveness Axis we will tackle a set of actions aimed at complementing our «VITAMIN TERRITORY» with a wider range of experiential leisure, culture, nature and health offerings. Of course, all of it will always be linked to our local products, our traditions and our history.

For this reason, at Fitur 2024 the Town Hall will present the event called “Gastronomic Island: Land of lobster, pepper and wine”. This is a dynamic, interactive event with the public, running through the storyline of a presentation that will discuss the value of Gastronomic Tourism as a lever for rural development, and the strengthening of the primary sector by promoting the development of family farming and livestock rearing, and the preservation of local products with high gastronomic, economic and social value.

Throughout the presentation, a number of well-known characters from the municipality of Arnuero—who are a regular part of the experiences offered to visitors—will interact with the speaker and with the public. Marcial and Josefa “millers”, Juan de Castillo “Universal Architect” and the character of a fisherwoman from Quejo will energise a presentation that will constantly interact with the audience, and through them an introduction will be made to the three local products that will be presented and tasted.