La Junta de Castilla y León is participating this weekend in the Expovacaciones fair in Bilbao, promoting the region’s tourism offerings and focusing on positioning the Community as a ‘Movie Set’. The Basque Country is the fifth largest source market for tourists to Castilla y León, with over 449,780 visitors in 2024, a 4.44% increase from the previous year.
May 10, 2025
Castilla y León |
Department of Culture, Tourism, and Sport
The Junta de Castilla y León is currently at the Expovacaciones 2025 tourism fair, taking place at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre in Barakaldo. This trade fair is aimed at industry professionals and the general public. The Department of Culture, Tourism, and Sport’s promotion features a 100-square-meter stand and the participation of the provincial tourism boards of Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, and Zamora, showcasing their main tourism products at the fair. The stand is themed with the promotional slogan ‘Castilla y León. Movie Set’.
Additionally, a tasting area has been set up within the stand, where the Junta is promoting its culinary offerings with wine demonstrations and tastings from the nine Wine Routes of Castilla y León. This space is led by chef and communicator David Monaguillo and offers a wide range of activities open to the public.
Movie Set
This Friday, the Department participated in the ‘SET CONGRESS! Screen in Emotional Tourism’, a new congress unique in Europe held at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) in Barakaldo, coinciding with Expovacaciones Fair.
Spain is a powerhouse in the tourism sector and is one of the most popular filming locations globally. Screen tourism is a growing sector that connects tourists and viewers with destinations in a more meaningful way, incorporating experiences and emotions.
Castilla y León, which was presented as a ‘Movie Set’ at FITUR, took part in this congress through a roundtable discussion titled ‘Destinations that Bet on Screen Tourism’. The panel featured speakers such as Fernando de Patrocinio Rodríguez (Junta de Castilla y León), Ilona Shekyants Kazaryan (State Secretariat of Tourism), and Patricia Pérez de Castro (Eturia Castilla-La Mancha), moderated by Ana Alonso (The Travelling Set). The discussion highlighted the importance of screen tourism as a tourist attraction and territorial dynamizer, both during filming due to the production teams, actors, etc., and after, through the richness generated for viewers and tourists who wish to visit and explore the locations where these movies, series, etc., were filmed. The seventh art is decisively contributing to the increase in tourism in many regions by transforming viewers into travelers, thanks to the magic of cinema.
At this congress, five brochures were presented for the promotion of film tourism in Castilla y León, titled: Castilla y León Series Route, Castilla y León Western Territory, Castilla y León of Orson Welles, Castilla y León of Carlos Saura, and Castilla y León Cid Route. Additionally, a promotional spot titled Castilla y León ‘Movie Set’ was shown, featuring images of some of the locations where important films such as ‘Doctor Zhivago’, ‘El Cid’, ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, ‘Fast & Furious X’, ‘Juana the Mad’, or ‘Lost Paradises’, among others, were shot.
Proximity Market
Castilla y León is showcasing its tourism offerings in the Basque Country, considered a market of great interest and priority in promotional activities due to its proximity and high demand for specialized tourism products.
In 2024, 449,780 travelers from the Basque Country visited Castilla y León, a 4.44% increase from the previous year, making it the fifth largest source market towards the Community, accounting for 6.49% of total national travelers.