With this first round, a campaign begins in which sun and beach once again take center stage, although the offer goes far beyond that. The program has 879,213 places, distributed among mainland coast destinations, the islands and getaway tourism, with options including cultural circuits, nature tourism, provincial capitals and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
The mainland coast accounts for the largest number of places, with 440,284, or 50.1% of the total. Island coastal destinations have a further 228,142 places, or 25.9%, while getaway tourism will offer 210,787, or 23.9%.
In addition, Imserso will distribute 36% of the places in each package proportionally throughout each month of the campaign, with the aim of preventing trips from being concentrated on just a few dates.
MORE THAN 4.6 MILLION PEOPLE APPROVED
The opening of bookings comes after Imserso sent 2,938,156 letters to the 4,602,255 people approved to travel with the tourism program during this season.
Each of these letters includes four digits, different each season, which are required to make bookings or purchase trips online.
€50 TRIPS AND PLACES FOR PETS
The Ministry of Social Rights is maintaining the two major new features introduced last season. The first is a reduced fare allowing pensioners with fewer resources to travel for just €50, regardless of the destination, while Imserso covers the remaining cost of the trip.
In total, 7,447 places have been set aside for people receiving a benefit equal to or lower than the amount of the non-contributory disability or retirement pensions provided by Spain's Social Security system.
The second measure reserves a percentage of places for users who wish to travel with their pets. This option is available both on mainland coastal trips and island coastal trips, always in accordance with the regulations and care requirements applicable to these animals.
SALES BY PROVINCE
Sales will begin on September 14 in Andalusia, Aragon, Castile and Leon, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid, Melilla, Navarre and La Rioja for priority users. Non-priority users will be able to access the trips from September 15.
In Asturias, Catalonia, Castile-La Mancha, the Valencian Community, Ceuta, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Murcia and the Basque Country, program users will be able to purchase trips from September 16 if they have priority status, and one day later, on September 17, if they do not.
WHICH TRIPS CAN BE BOOKED IN THE FIRST FEW DAYS
From September 14 to 18, each person will only be able to book trips available within their province's allocation, assigned according to the number of residents aged over 65 who are registered there. The aim is to stagger sales and prevent overloads at booking centers.
From September 19, trips that remain unsold in any province can be booked. In addition, cancellations, changes and withdrawals will create new availability throughout the season.
HOW TO BOOK IMSERSO TRIPS
Pensioners will be able to book Mainland Coast and Getaway Tourism trips at www.turismosocial.es and Island Coast trips at www.mundicolor.es, using their national identity card number and accreditation code. They can also do so at authorized travel agencies using only their national identity card.
The Ministry of Social Rights stresses that the program contributes to active aging and the promotion of an active life, solidarity between generations and regions, job creation and economic activity, and efforts to combat loneliness. It also highlights the program's high level of acceptance among pensioners across Spain.
