Acesur's olive mill at Jabalquinto, in the province of Jaén. Photo: Acesur1840, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The provincial authority is offering support for visitor facilities and promotional materials, with applications closing on 15 November.
Olive mills in Jaén have until 15 November to apply for a new round of provincial grants intended to help them develop tourism activities alongside olive oil production. The call, published in the province's official bulletin on 29 October, supports investment in visitor facilities as well as promotional materials explaining what mills can offer to tourists.
The programme is split into two funding lines. The larger, worth 170,000€, covers improvements to the physical spaces used to welcome visitors. Eligible projects include reception areas, spaces for tastings and food demonstrations, visitor toilets, accessibility improvements, signage and interpretation of the olive oil extraction process. Individual projects can receive up to 20,000€ under this line.
A second line, worth 25,000€, supports promotional videos, brochures and educational materials for visitors, with a maximum of 4,000€ per project. In both lines the grant covers up to half of the eligible cost, excluding VAT, and spending from 1 January 2026 to 30 June 2027 qualifies.
A second business alongside production
The initiative reflects the growing effort to turn working olive mills into destinations where visitors can learn about harvesting, milling and extra virgin olive oil tasting. For participating mills, tourism offers a potential route to direct consumer contact, brand recognition and on-site retail sales, although the profitability of individual projects will depend on visitor numbers and operating costs.
A visitor facility also requires a different set of capabilities from olive processing. Mills need to manage public access, explain production clearly and organise visits around industrial operations that may be particularly busy during the harvest. Grants can lower the initial investment required, but do not remove those operational demands.
Any company whose activities include making olive oil in a municipality of Jaén province can apply, whatever its legal form, with one application per line. The Diputación de Jaén's grant page carries the call and separate application documents for each line, which set out eligibility, eligible expenditure and how to apply.