Impressive Monclova Castle Which is located in the municipality of Fuentes de Andalusia, next to the highway linking the province of Seville to Madrid, the scene was on Friday, September 26, on the occasion of World Tourism Day, … From the ceremony in which the County Council, through the Prodetur (Association for the Promotion of Economic Development and Tourism) presented the second edition of Seville Province Tourism Awards for Excellence in PeopleWhich was attended by about one thousand two hundred people Javier Fernandez To the head. The cost of the aforementioned tourism promotion ceremony exceeded 160 thousand euros, based on the various service contracts consulted by this newspaper in the contractor’s file, in which supplies such as furniture or concert production, among others, do not appear, which could raise the cost to more than 200 thousand euros, according to regional sources consulted. If we compare the first edition ceremony held in Santiponse, which cost about 115 thousand euros, the amount has almost doubled.
The goal of the Provincial Council for this event, according to sources from the regional body, is to move the celebration to different corners of the geography of Seville, taking it away from the capital. The ceremony, held in Castillo de la Monclova, was attended by about 1,200 people. The guests include governorate deputies, mayors, council members, sector technicians, consuls, associations, tourism and gastronomic companies, and the winners. And many residents of nearby municipalities, most of them led by mayors from PSOE or IU. Neighbors were offered free buses. The cost of these trips is more than ten thousand euros.
The cocktail was then prepared, which included serving food At a cost of 65,000 euros (Including VAT). It was the most important element, although we must add to that the artists, who on this occasion were Pastora Soler and Manuel Lombo, the promotional video “Sevilla, cerca” or the rental of the Monclova Castle itself, located in an agricultural and livestock area in the Guadalquivir countryside and which had been owned by the Duke of Infantado and the Marquis of Ariza since the sixteenth century.
These are some of the concepts whose contractual files can be viewed in the contractor’s profile, but there were other obvious supplies that were not published, perhaps because their cost was less than the stipulated minimum amount to fulfill the obligation to make them available on the aforementioned website. Hence, among what has not been published is everything related to lighting, sounds, technology, or… Chair rental (More than a thousand), which raises the cost of the aforementioned ceremony to more than two hundred thousand euros.
A year earlier, Javier Fernández, in his first year in office, presided over the first edition of the Seville Province Tourism Awards for Human Excellence, organized by Proditor, at the Teatro Romano de Italica. Therefore, the catering service for half a thousand people did not exceed twenty thousand euros, including value added tax. The total amount of the concert was approximately 115 thousand euros, an amount that could be increased by another twenty thousand euros, again, due to unpublished service contracts.
In Madrid
As Javier Fernandez said on September 26, it is very important to bring this festival to the province, just as it was celebrated last year in Santiponce, betting on regional tourism. He ended his speech by announcing that the regional body had received 87 proposals in the MAS Seville plan dedicated to tourism presented in the latest edition of Vitorwhich prompted the submission of a second proposal for 2026, which, like this year, received ten million euros.
Specifically, in the development of Fitur, by the county council, it is also clear Increase in alimony item In celebrations since Javier Fernandez took over the presidency of the regional body.
On January 17, 2023, the last year in Fernando Rodriguez Villalobos Vitor attended as President of the Regional Council, and it was held at the Gran Casino in Madrid, before the opening of the International Tourism Fair, Ambassadors partyThis is through Prodetur in cooperation with the Academy of Diplomacy. That night, María Jesús Montero, a regular attendee of regional council events, attended. This edition of Fitur cost the provincial coffers about 105,000 euros (including VAT). At least these are the expenses that are recorded in the contractor’s file.
A year later, with the mayor of La Rinconada assuming the presidency of the Regional Council after the spring 2023 elections, spending rose above the budget level. 480,000 euros.
The explanation lies, and this is what the Regional Council itself indicates, as the edition was punctuated by the confrontation with the Andalusian Council regarding the meters that were granted to the governorate platform. That month of January 2024 in the Spanish capital, Proditor organized Two parties On the 23rd and 24th. The first, in the Casa de las Alhajas, the former monastery of San Martín. 400 people were expected to attend. The second party was known as the Ambassadors Party, at the Gran Circulo Casino, located on Alcalá Street.
The celebration of two such events outside the Vitor facilities could justify the disproportionate increase in the last item of the budget of the Rodríguez Villalobos International Tourism Fair and the first in Fernández, but the reality is that in 2025, with a single ceremony, the cost was three times higher than in 2023. Specifically, the last edition of the event most relevant to the tourism sector in Spain It cost the county council approximately 350 thousand euros. It is a number that highlights the economic increase in this type of event since Fernandez assumed the presidency.