07/10/2026 The Ciudad de la Energía Foundation (CIUDEN), an entity under the Institute for Just Transition (ITJ), both affiliated with the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), continues its training program in Asturias as part of the Carbon Tourism Experience Network. This initiative aims to provide local stakeholders with knowledge and tools to transform mining industrial heritage into new tourism experiences and products.
The training in Asturias will take place over three sessions at Pozo Sotón in San Martín del Rey Aurelio, designed to address the needs and characteristics of areas linked to mining tradition. The program will focus on improving the quality and capacity of tourism experiences, advancing their commercialization and sustainability, and strengthening connections among various resources and stakeholders to build an integrated mining tourism offer.
This initiative is part of a broader training program being implemented in regions currently part of the Network, which aims to enhance cooperation among areas with mining traditions, share knowledge, and develop tourism products linked to a common heritage.
Three sessions to enhance and connect mining tourism experiences
The first session will be held tomorrow, October 8, at 4:30 PM, focusing on value creation, quality, and experiences in Carbon Tourism. This session will analyze the existing offerings in the Nalón and Caudal basins and work on transforming mining resources into differentiated tourism products, improving their narratives, quality, and capacity to generate attractive experiences for visitors.
The second session will address commercialization, sustainability, and the de-seasonalization of mining tourism offerings. The focus will be on improving the regularity and viability of experiences, enhancing their marketing and promotion, and advancing coordination and cooperation among various stakeholders and resources in the area.
The program will conclude with a third session featuring a workshop aimed at creating and connecting mining experiences and building an integrated tourism destination. This meeting will allow for the review and enhancement of existing experiences based on criteria of accessibility, inclusion, sustainability, and quality, and will work on connecting with other resources and services through itineraries, cross-recommendations, and coordinated programming, with the goal of reinforcing a common vision of the mining territory.
A network to share knowledge and generate new opportunities
The training in Asturias is part of an initiative that began in 2025, aimed at consolidating a stable cooperation structure among territories with mining traditions, promoting the exchange of knowledge and experiences, and developing joint tourism products. These training sessions, led by CIUDEN, started in September in Ponferrada and will subsequently take place in As Pontes (A Coruña) and Escucha (Teruel), alongside Asturias and Andalusia, which are the initial territories where the Carbon Tourism Experience Network is being established.
The training actions have been adapted to the needs of each territory and seek to integrate resources linked to the mining past into tourism proposals capable of connecting heritage, memory, landscape, culture, and local economic activity. In Asturias, the program also aims to progress from an offer based on individual resources and experiences toward a shared territorial vision, leveraging the proximity and complementarity of facilities, businesses, and stakeholders in the Nalón and Caudal basins. Thus, the sessions aim to contribute to improving the tourism offer linked to mining heritage, strengthening cooperation among stakeholders, and fostering the creation of connected experiences that advance toward an integrated mining tourism destination.
