Seasonality is one of the main objectives of tourism policies and, within the framework of this objective, the sustainable tourism It positions itself as strategic when it comes to balancing economic, social and environmental benefits compared to the traditional offer. one of them … niches, capable of combining them all, is what we call “mycotourism”, that is to say that which facilitates immersive tourism experiences in the forest to identify, learn and harvest mushrooms and truffles.
What not so long ago was practically a local pastime has become a structured and regulated tourism product, in which digital platforms are already mobilizing rural spending and employment. Specifically in Spain, in Soria and the two Castilles, and in Aragon during the truffle season, they have developed sustainable management models, online permits and gastronomic experiences that manage to extend the calendar beyond the summer and which have also become a reference for a type of alternative tourism.
In Castile and León, as part of the Micocyl program, The community has succeeded in articulating a management system that combines forest conservation, traceability and economic activity. This model is pioneering in Europe and is managed by the Cesefor Foundation, which regulates the harvest of mushrooms in more than 500 municipalities and nearly two million hectares of forest. Its digital platform makes it possible to process authorizations, control quotas and monitor production in real time using the Micodata viewer, which has professionalized a previously dispersed and seasonal activity. Technological deployment was key: in 2025, the web experience was improved and features such as the “basket” for obtaining daily authorizations were integrated, as well as resources for good practices and mycological restoration.
“Thus, collection ceases to be an isolated act and becomes part of a “mycological value chain”: regulated forest, permits, tourism, local gastronomy, rural economy. In this chain, municipalities and forest owners obtain income; visitors pay for permits, services or accommodation; and local businesses are finding demand outside of the usual summer peaks,” the promoters explain.
The most visible example of this success is that of Montes de Soria Association, the largest regulated mycological zone in the countrywith 197,000 hectares under management and a permit system that has become the economic engine of the territory. In 2024, Montes de Soria closed the campaign with 54,752 collection permits issued, a record number. The data represents sustained growth from 2023, when just over 50,000 licenses were sold. more than 55% of the total issued in Castilla y León. Tourist demand remains strong: around 60% of permits correspond to non-local visitors, reflecting the weight of mycotourism as an economic driver. The sale of permits distinguishes profiles (local, related, mycotourists) and is supported by affordable prices. In 2024, Montes de Soria estimated that 60% of permits sold corresponded to mycotourists.
Professional product
But mycotourism does not rely on permits alone. Micotour is supported on this basis of management and sustainability, an interregional project financed by European Next Generation funds and coordinated by the FAragon Foundation for Agri-Food Innovation and Transfer (FITA) in collaboration with the European Institute of Mycology (EMI). Its objective is to transform this natural wealth into a structured, professional and seasonal tourism product. Micotour works in a network with territories of Castile and León, Aragon, Catalonia and the Basque Country, promoting mycological routes, interpretation centers, rural innovation laboratories or living laboratories, and a network of specialized restaurants that revalorize mycogastronomy as a tourist experience. “We are working on another way of communicating about mycology, avoiding these mass calls only when the mushrooms are growing,” he explains. Yolanda Santos, tourist advisor at Soria town hall. “The objective is clear: if the collection is good, it is another incentive, but if it is not, the tourist offer is maintained. If it is a year of low production, nothing happens, we will continue to have activities linked to mycotourism, since this activity is much more than a simple collection. We will discover another type of mycology and we will also raise awareness on how to carry out responsible practices in the forest,” Santos says.
Horizon
The objective is to achieve a structured, professionalized and regulated tourism product.
Mycotourism generates self-employment opportunities (guides, mycological interpreters, active tourism), zero kilometer restoration and agri-food processing. In 2025, Micotour promoted living laboratories in Ávila and Soria with more than 60 experts from 8 autonomous communities and several countries, and a network of restaurants committed to mycological cuisine without added flavors. José Antonio Vega, technical director of Micotour, explains that the ultimate goal is to deseasonalize tourism demand, offering experiences outside of the summer peaks, establishing the population in rural areas and generating new economic models based on natural heritage. The project develops different lines of work. On the one hand, it promotes the creation and improvement of mycotourism infrastructures: regulated parks, guided itineraries, interpretation centers and a homogeneous catalog of services integrating collection, gastronomy and education activities.
Citizen science
On the other hand, it is committed to “citizen science” and academic collaboration: its “living laboratories” bring together researchers, forestry technicians, chefs, businesses and administrations to define good practices, evaluate biodiversity, conserve ecosystems and create regenerative mycological tourism. Destinations with a product and a story build loyalty among travelers. In 2025, Soria presented a tourist guide and even a mushroom gauge as an educational resource on routes and centers; She also inaugurated an interpretation center in Valonsadero with QR panels and audio guides – all inserted into Micotour – to learn how to identify species and obtain permission.
If autumn is synonymous with mushrooms, winter is synonymous with truffles. The black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) extends the season with fairs and days that attract gastronomic and media spending. Abejar (Soria) closed the month of February 2025 with more than 6,000 visitors and record attendance for its XXII Truffle Fair; Cesefor received the 2025 Golden Truffle for its contribution to the sector. In parallelSarrión (Teruel) has just celebrated Fitruf 2025 (December 6-8), reaffirming its status as the black diamond capital of the world. Gastronomic days are multiplying: in Soria, “Soria y trufa” brought together around twenty restaurants; In Aragon, Trúfate has adopted a traveling format to bring the truffle to different regions… Spain is already the world’s largest producer of black truffles with more than 600 tonnes per year, which represents almost 60% of global production, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and the truffle sector. The main production areas are concentrated in Aragon (notably Teruel), Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia and Soria, where this crop has transformed thousands of hectares into high value-added farms. The Spanish truffle sector moves more than 70 million euros per year, generating direct jobs in plantations, nurseries, quality control and indirect jobs in hospitality, events and mycotourism.
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