Costa del sol – Where sun and beach come together

Harbor in Puerto Banus, Costa del Sol, Spain, Dec 2004 3 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, the Costa del Sol includes over 150 kilometres of coastline in the province of Malaga, south of the Iberian Peninsula. Its name is no accident; more than 325 days of sunshine per year coupled with the mild climate gives us the key to this paradise with beaches to suit all tastes. Today’s route takes a tour of the region considered as the main tourist area in Andalusia.

The western Costa del Sol consists of nine municipalities: Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Mijas, Marbella, Benahavis, Estepona, Casares and Manilva. Its great attraction is the binomial of sun and beach, the real
conqueror of foreign tourism. Along with the wide range of hotels, restaurants and entertainment, the Costa del Sol is a key point of the peninsula to enjoy.

Torremolinos underwent a major change in the mid-twentieth century thanks to its tourist potential. The beaches, the friendliness towards tourists and visiting celebrities of the time made of this former fishing village the
cradle of tourism. La Carihuela is the most popular district mainly for its cuisine and its signature dish: the fried fish.

The town of Benalmadena consists of three districts: Arroyo de la Miel, Benalmadena Pueblo and Costa. The town has first class beaches, as well as hotels. The coastal area is a very popular tourist resort with an awarded marina; meanwhile in the close by hills is situated the historic village.

Fuengirola is rest and entertainment. The choice is up to the visitor. The resort has beaches for relaxation and endless possibilities to enjoy day and night. Regarding culture, is outstanding the castle Sohail, a small Moorish
fortress of the Middle Ages.

Mijas is a large municipality where mix urban coastal resorts, golf courses and traditional rural areas: Mijas Pueblo, Mijas Costa and Las Lagunas, where each area allows enjoying the holidays in a different way.

Marbella, situated between the sea and the mountains of the Sierra Blanca, is the birthplace of upscale tourism in the Mediterranean; an elegant resort with the most exclusive offers of beaches, beach clubs, restaurants, hotels,
leisure and golf courses of the Costa del Sol.

The privileged location of Benahavis in the foothills of the Sierra de las Nieves makes the municipality a real treasure. The town is a haven for rest and to play golf as it has a great offer of first class golf courses. But if there is anything that characterizes Benahavis, is its cuisine. Hence derived the name with which Benahavis is popularly defined: The cuisine of
the Costa del Sol.

Estepona offers great beaches, golf courses and five star hotels, while maintaining an air of traditional fishing village with a charming old town.

The White Village of Casares is situated on a steep limestone massif, and on top we find the castle. In addition, the resort has the natural landscape of Sierra Bermeja, whose peculiarity is its volcanic origin.

Manilva can boast of being bathed by the Mediterranean and own vineyards producing a wine of great quality.

As you can see, there is plenty to discover along the 100 kilometres of coastline of the western Costa del Sol between Malaga city and Manilva. Book now your car rental at Malaga airport to ensure full freedom in your holidays on the Costa del Sol.

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Cultural activities received 6.800 cruisers last Saturday in Malaga

The streets in the centre were yet again filled with jazz exhibitions, flamenco shows and classical music concerts in a new day of maximum tourist influx

After the success of April the 27th, the Tourist Board once again organised a new program of cultural activities in several streets of the city’s historical centre receiving over 6.800 cruisers and 2.000 crew members that arrived at the city on three cruise ships.

The aim of these organised events is that the visitors find their stroll through our city even more attractive and so that they can discover Malaga as a lively city, with shows specially designed for all the profiles of tourists. Saturday’s program took place between 10:00 and 12:30 in the Plaza de la Constitución, where a flamenco fusion show was carried out by the group Flamenkura; on Cister street, an exhibition of traditional jazz with guitar and piano; and on Caldereria street, the Murillo Quartet offered a concert of classical concert.

As the Culture, Tourism and Sport councillor, already explained at the time, these activities were carried out during the days of most influx of cruisers. With this, the Tourist Board hoped to achieve that the visitors fall in love with the city and consider organising a longer stay in the destination in the near future.

“The tourists don’t want to just settle for discovering the city’s patrimony, they need to live unforgettable experiences in the destination, knowing that the city that they’ll be arriving at is culturally alive and can offer all kinds of activities, which is why we organised this wide range of shows and events, to value the richness of our culture”, pointed out the councillor.

These activities also contributed to the promotion of the city’s culture. In fact, the events (dance shows, music, performances or wine and olive oil tastings) were carried out by local professional groups or students of these disciplines.

The use of the swimming pools in Torremolinos amongst foreign athletes leave 700.000 euros

More than 400 swimmers from 37 teams will be using these facilities this month of April

The municipal pools in Torremolinos, situated in the local sports centre, have become yet another touristic attraction, as many foreign athlete teams make use of them for their training. In fact, the economic impact of the use of these pools during this month of April surpasses the amount of 700.000 euros.

To be exact, this month, these facilities will host more than 400 athletes that come from 37 foreign teams that use these pools for training and preparation for different championships. The National Institute of Statistics (NIS) quantifies this economic repercussion in an average income per person, per day of 86 euros, which means more than 700.000 euros of income.

Countries like France, England, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Holland and Canada are the ones that contribute with the most groups of athletes this month. A lot of the athletes are preparing for their next venue, the London Olympics in the United Kingdom, according to a press note published by the town hall.

This way, although the duration of these concentrations vary in each case, the majority of these groups, normally formed by between 15 and 25 people, stay between seven and 14 days, although many remain for longer, like the case of the Finnish Swim Club ‘Jyvasakyla Sprinters’, that stayed for 29 days. The majority of the foreign athletes choose to stay in 3-star and 4-star hotels.

These swimming teams and other teams of other specialities that also choose the Torremolinos Sports Centre make “an extraordinary contribution to the municipality’s economic development and become valuable ambassadors of Torremolinos’ virtues for other groups of athletes of their respective countries”.

Furthermore, they are destiny prescribers for tourists in general, many of them family members or friends of these athletes, “that discover, through them, the excellences of the municipality as a tourist destination”.

Lastly, amongst other swimmers of international elite, Canada’s whole synchronised swimming team will be visiting Torremolinos and these facilities, as they have scheduled a ten-day stay in the municipality at the end of this month.

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The sun and sea tourism deals better with the crisis

Former train station of Fuengirola, currently converted into a tourism information office. Fuengirola, Spain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The traditional holiday destinations, with Benalmadena in the head group, have firmly resisted the downfall of the crisis during these last three years. According to a brief presented yesterday by Exceltur, the most touristic points of the country, linked to the offer of sun and sea, have not only not decreased during this period, but they managed to close last year with an overall balance of growth, in both profitability and employment.

This brief, that analyses the evolution of the 105 top-quality municipalities in the industry, highlights the behaviour of Benalmadena, that increased its hotel occupation, between 2008 and 2011, in 2.3 points -between 73.2% and 75.5%- and in 11.6 points the income received per room, which means 5.6% more than in the average of the best areas of the coast.

The excellent result of Benalmadena, that is experiencing the eighth most steepest increase in the country, only behind destinations like Ibiza and Roses, stands out above other consolidated places like the Costa del Sol. Marbella, for example, settled the past three-year period with an increase of 0.3% in the profitability indicator, a figure way under average, but well compensated by the increase in the occupation chapter, of 3.4 points.

The descent of Fuengirola. The efficiency of the touristic aristocracy on the coast does not extend all over the territory, not even in the province, where the research detects downfalls. In the case of Torremolinos, with a 3.3% descent of income per room and, most of all, Fuengirola, that Exceltur has added to the rest of “looser” destinations, with a 10.3% descent in profitability and a loss of 4.6 points in general occupation.

The slump of these last aforementioned municipalities is mainly due, according to the breif, to the stagnation of their facilities, the town-planning congestion and the deliberate bet on a massive demand of a less spending capacity, that has been affected by the irruption of the crisis. In general terms, the strength shown by the destinations on the coast, in comparison to the urban ones, a lot more prim in their growth, considerably obeys the industry’s movements over the past few years, characterised by the monetary ups and downs and the recycling of the tourists that come from other latitudes. In this sense, Exceltur mentions the entrance of travellers as a result of the politic instability of the Mediterranean Arabic destinations. It also refers to the moderation of the offer as the core of the increase of income per room.

Malaga’s rise of 2011. Despite the predominance of the holiday destinations, the city tourism accumulates a balance that, in some cases, like Santander and Barcelona, leaves a positive mark. Malaga registers an accumulated descent of 7.4% in the rate per room and of 0.9 points regarding hotel occupation. In the last year, however, the destination has dishevelled up to the point of reaching a spectacular increase, 8.2% in income and 2.8% in employment. The highest increase in the whole country, together with Barcelona. Exceltur links the increase to the proximity of the places with demand of sun and sea and to the strength of the tourism of cruises; after all, Malaga has the advantage of not having to depend exclusively on the affluence of the national public, that has been rather more timid this year as a result of the country’s economic weakness.

The balance of 2011, included in the research, also reflects Benalmadena’s rise, once again, that over the last twelve months increased the profitability of its rooms by 17.7 points, with 2.2% more employment. It also refers to Fuengirola, on the other hand, that concludes the list of the country’s holiday destinations with a decline of 4.8 and 3.4%, respectively.

Exceltur’s barometer insists that the destinations with the best results over the last few years have been the ones who decided to renew part of their offer.

Costa del Sol sun and sea tourism deals better with the crisis

Exceltur Meeting

Benalmadena increases its income by 11%, according to Exceltur. Fuengirola, amongst those that are most descending

The traditional holiday destinations, with Benalmadena in the head group, have firmly resisted the downfall of the crisis during these last three years. According to a brief presented yesterday by Exceltur, the most touristic points of the country, linked to the offer of sun and sea, have not only not decreased during this period, but they managed to close last year with an overall balance of growth, in both profitability and employment.

This brief, that analyses the evolution of the 105 top-quality municipalities in the industry, highlights the behaviour of Benalmadena, that increased its hotel occupation, between 2008 and 2011, in 2.3 points -between 73.2% and 75.5%- and in 11.6 points the income received per room, which means 5.6% more than in the average of the best areas of the coast.

The excellent result of Benalmadena, that is experiencing the eighth most steepest increase in the country, only behind destinations like Ibiza and Roses, stands out above other consolidated places like the Costa del Sol. Marbella, for example, settled the past three-year period with an increase of 0.3% in the profitability indicator, a figure way under average, but well compensated by the increase in the occupation chapter, of 3.4 points.

The descent of Fuengirola. The efficiency of the touristic aristocracy on the coast does not extend all over the territory, not even in the province, where the research detects downfalls. In the case of Torremolinos, with a 3.3% descent of income per room and, most of all, Fuengirola, that Exceltur has added to the rest of “looser” destinations, with a 10.3% descent in profitability and a loss of 4.6 points in general occupation.

The slump of these last aforementioned municipalities is mainly due, according to the breif, to the stagnation of their facilities, the town-planning congestion and the deliberate bet on a massive demand of a less spending capacity, that has been affected by the irruption of the crisis. In general terms, the strength shown by the destinations on the coast, in comparison to the urban ones, a lot more prim in their growth, considerably obeys the industry’s movements over the past few years, characterised by the monetary ups and downs and the recycling of the tourists that come from other latitudes. In this sense, Exceltur mentions the entrance of travellers as a result of the politic instability of the Mediterranean Arabic destinations. It also refers to the moderation of the offer as the core of the increase of income per room.

Malaga’s rise of 2011. Despite the predominance of the holiday destinations, the city tourism accumulates a balance that, in some cases, like Santander and Barcelona, leaves a positive mark. Malaga registers an accumulated descent of 7.4% in the rate per room and of 0.9 points regarding hotel occupation. In the last year, however, the destination has dishevelled up to the point of reaching a spectacular increase, 8.2% in income and 2.8% in employment. The highest increase in the whole country, together with Barcelona. Exceltur links the increase to the proximity of the places with demand of sun and sea and to the strength of the tourism of cruises; after all, Malaga has the advantage of not having to depend exclusively on the affluence of the national public, that has been rather more timid this year as a result of the country’s economic weakness.

The balance of 2011, included in the research, also reflects Benalmadena’s rise, once again, that over the last twelve months increased the profitability of its rooms by 17.7 points, with 2.2% more employment. It also refers to Fuengirola, on the other hand, that concludes the list of the country’s holiday destinations with a decline of 4.8 and 3.4%, respectively.

Exceltur’s barometer insists that the destinations with the best results over the last few years have been the ones who decided to renew part of their offer.

Cruises in Marbella from the new Port Al-Thani

As many know, Marbella is one of the most attractive locations of the Spanish territory, due to an infrastructure and service that make it a dream destination for many people, choosing Marbella for its shops, restaurants and nightclubs. The enviable coastline of this popular Costa del Sol municipality not only encourages water sports but also the future arrival of cruise ships.

Thus, Marbella will soon boost a spectacular cruise harbour which will be envied by the whole Mediterranean and which is carried out by a consortium between the municipality and the Sheikh of Qatar, Abdullah Ben Nasser Al-Tahani, who is showing a great affection for Malaga and the Costa del Sol.

The port, called Al-Thani, is an investment project of the Sheikh and has a large circular dock with capacity for more than a thousand berths and accommodate large cruise ships. It also will have a shopping mall, luxury hotel, sea promenade and underground parking for 450 cars.

Construction works are expected to be completed in 2015. This dream of Marbella will come true by investments of Sheikh Al-Thani, amounting to 400 million Euros.

Port Al-Thani is a project of enormous magnitude, resembling the constructions of Dubai, and which will open Marbella to tourism from the UAE and around the world. This luxury project will compete with Puerto Banus, a place that entices and enchants for its exclusivity.

Benalmadena presents a tourist guide for mobile phones

Image via Wikipedia

Encarnacion Cortes, the tourist councillor of Benalmadena’s town hall, presented a new promotional tool to promote the municipality’s tourism. It’s an updated guide that shows images of the municipality’s different tourist attractions, that has been possible thanks to the agreement with the Touristic Innovations Centre, Andalusia Lab, pioneer centre in Europe boosted by the Andalusian Government’s Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Sport.

Benalmadena becomes the second town in Malaga province to offer this interactive guide, together with Frigiliana -and Selwo Adventure Park in Estepona- being one the five municipalities in Andalusia to have this guide.

“The main feature is that it’s an interactive tourist guide, which means the tourists can use this guide on their mobile phones to check out the municipality’s main places of interest, as well as the hotels and restaurants, and find these points the easiest and most comfortable way possible with a geolocator”, stated Cortes.

The councillor assured that there are already many hotels, restaurants and other businesses that can be found through this interactive guide, but wanted to encourage all of those who are not yet included, to get in contact with the town hall’s tourist office situated in Avenida Antonio Machado, next to Solymar Square.

You can access the guide via the QR codes displayed in the main places of interest of the municipality.

Torremolinos, Costa del Sol leads again tourism in Andalucia

Image via Wikipedia

Torremolinos again led tourism in Andalucia last September, as shown by the data provided by the National Statistics Institute with almost half a million overnight stays.

While Spanish tourists traveling to the Costa del Sol are opting for short stays, the average foreign tourist stays about a week to enjoy the mild Mediterranean climate of the coast of Malaga.

The province of Malaga on the Costa del Sol

Who speaks of traditional historic Spanish cities thinks primarily of Seville, Cordoba, Barcelona or Madrid. But also Malaga, the Andalusian port city on the Costa del, Sol offers many cultural attractions. And the province of Malaga, with its unique location on the sunny coast of the Costa del Sol, features impressive mountain ranges and picturesque villages in the hinterland. Malaga is the ideal destination for a beach holiday, family holiday, activity holiday or a sightseeing holiday.

Beach holiday in the province of Malaga

The beautiful beaches and Mediterranean climate guarantee bathing pleasure nearly throughout the year. A touch of luxury can be found on the beaches of the jet-set resort Marbella. From the marina to the fishing port stretch several long sandy beaches. Party, fun and lots of water sports activities can be found on the beaches of the popular tourist resorts of Torremolinos and Benalmadena.

Malaga for art and culture fans

Malaga is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. The famous artist was born here in 1881. Therefore, the visit of the “Picasso Museum” is a must!

The imposing Moorish Alcazaba palace is a fortress from the 11th century. It was part of a defense system of the Arabs. It is surrounded by a beautiful walkway around the palace and from the upper part of the hill you can enjoy the magnificent views of Malaga and the Mediterranean Sea.

Malaga for nature lovers

A small tropical paradise is the “Jardin Botanico Historico”. In 1850, the romantic park was laid out with many exotic plants, some of which come from America, Australia and the Philippines.

Anyone planning a holiday in Malaga on the Costa del Sol will find numerous flight offers, because the popular town is served by almost all airports. Accommodations are also very numerous, from the luxurious hotel, to simple guest houses, holiday apartments or private rural cottages and villas on the Costa del Sol.

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Congress tourism on the Costa del Sol, Malaga

Costa del Sol area

The offer of tourism in Malaga is not limited to sun and beach, the natural virtues of the region or the monuments of the place. The congress tourism turns out to be a really powerful market as evidenced by the figures of last year in the Costa del Sol.

When pronouncing the word tourism, come to mind beach, vacations and in general all kinds of situations far away from what might be considered a work environment. But in fact the tourism industry goes far beyond and doesn´t cease its activity beyond of the dates of more “conventional” tourism.

Obviously, after the summer months the resorts along the Costa del Sol record a substantial reduction in hotel occupancy; to ensure profitability of these establishments during the rest of the year, many hotel chains have opted to enhance their offers aimed at companies organizing all kinds of events in the facilities and conferences that can attract customers.

Recently, this approach results in very positive numbers in areas like the Costa del Sol and Malaga, where hotel occupancy dates outside summer have increased by 26%.

Nine films will be competing in the 2nd Costa del Sol Gay Film Festival

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Nine homosexual theme films go head to head this year to win the Golden Carnation and the Silver Carnation for the “Best Film” of this theme in the second edition of the Costa del Sol Gay Film Festival that will take place in Torremolinos from the 14th to the 16th of October.

In the second year of this event, some of the films that will be showing will be the Argentinian “Ausente” (absent), two from the Basque Country “80 Egunean” and “Ander”, the Peruvian “Contracorriente” (countercurrent), the North American “Los chicos están bien” (The kids are alright), “Madre Amadísima” (Very Loved Mother), produced in Andalusia, the German “Sasha”, and two more Spanish “Habitación en Roma” (Bedroom in Rome) and “Gayxample. The Movie.”

The director of TV series like “Los Protegidos” (The Protégés) or “Física o Química” (Physics or Chemistry), Javier Quintas, will be the president of the judges, who will be made up of the following members: Antonio Hens, the director of the TV series “Arrayán”, the actor Javier Calvo, the actor’s agent Mayte Ortega and the journalist specialised in cinema, Manuel Bellido.

According to a press release from the organization, over the three days of the event, the audience will be able to observe, in depth, the way of thinking and lifestyle of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transexual community, and discover what they have to face and go through every day.

The festival will be attended by the directors and actors of the competing films, like the Argentinian Marco Berger, the winner of the Teddy for the “Best LGTB Film” in the Berlinale 2011; and the Italian director of “Gayxample. The Movie.”, Giuseppe Storelli.

The Spanish singer Isabel Pantoja and the actor Liberto Rabal will be the honoray godparents of the contest, that will take place in the Sala Ronda of the Torremolinos Conference and Exhibition Centre, within the Expogays fair.