Archena opened the Centro de Interpretación Etnográfico in the Palacete de Villa-Rías on 11 September. Those attending the opening included regional minister Carmen Conesa and mayor Patricia Fernández. Region Murcia The region and municipality describe the building as modern, digitally presented and fully accessible; it is intended to bring visitors closer to the municipality’s history, traditions and identity.
The exhibition focuses on the importance of water and thermal tourism, agriculture and the canning industry, esparto craftsmanship, local festivals and gastronomy. Technical features include a 360-degree projection, virtual reality applications, audiovisual formats, tactile models and signage in Spanish, English and Braille. An integrated information point complements the visitor experience.
The project is funded under the Tourism Sustainability Plan “Archena, tu paraíso de salud y vida”. According to the regional administration, the funding was provided through the Instituto de Turismo of the CARM remove Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia and programmes run by Next Generation EU. Tender notices and project documents published earlier show budgets for the museographic implementation and digital equipment.
At the opening, Carmen Conesa highlighted the expected benefits for Archena: the centre is intended to extend the season, encourage longer stays and attract new visitor groups by combining thermal tourism with culture, gastronomy, nature experiences and local routes. The region and municipality gave no specific visitor forecasts; any economic effects will need to be demonstrated in practice.
The Palacete de Villa-Rías is a restored building that is a distinctive feature of the townscape. It has been used temporarily several times in recent years and now serves as the permanent home of the new centre. With its opening, the municipality is expanding its cultural and tourism offer with an attraction located close to the thermal resources. The authorities emphasise the building’s accessibility to different user groups and digital curation as a central design principle.
The project’s positioning as part of structural tourism development is a deliberate policy choice. While the presentation clearly focuses on local identity, the stated aims of diversifying the offer, increasing the length of stays and spreading tourism more evenly across the year should be understood as intentions. Only a later evaluation can show whether they have been achieved.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).