Pilar has a degree in Journalism from the Complutense University in Malaga. She joined SUR in 1991 after working for TVE, Granada 2000, Diario 16 and Expansión. She has been the SUR specialist Tourism journalist for more than ten years.
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Nearly two million passengers used Malaga airport during May, latest official figures reveal, taking the running total for the year up to 7.1 million after five months. related story An end in sight to second runway's TV obstacle at Malaga air
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The Costa del Sol's airport continues its strong start to the year. In the period January to April, compared to last year, there were 7.3 per cent more passengers arriving or departing. Data from Aena, the airport operator, says that 5.2 million p
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The Club Med group, which will open a new five-star resort in Marbella in March 2020, has announced that the process to recruit 300 new staff members is now open. "The company is offering a chance to work in a multicultural environment where kindne
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The reopening of the iconic Hotel Byblos in Mijas Golf moved one step closer last week as the sale of the property to an as-yet unnamed international investment group was confirmed. related news Azora completes purchase of Pez Espada and Riviera
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The head of the Costa del Sol tourist board, Francisco Salado, said last week that Malaga province had had its best winter season ever. Data published by Turismo Costa del Sol shows that 2.8 million passengers arrived at the airport between Novemb
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Three municipalities are home to 25 per cent of all rural holiday accommodation in Malaga province, according to a report on sustainable tourism which was released by the Costa del Sol Tourist Board this week. Frigiliana heads the list, followed b
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For those who love luxury, the port in Malaga city was a joy to behold on Saturday. In fact, it was a day to remember, not just because an unusual number of cruise liners were visiting at the same time, bringing a wave of passengers into the city cen
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Holy Week in Andalucía is becoming even more popular with tourists. The regional government's Ministry of Tourism, Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration announced this week that the Easter visitors are estimated to have spent 352 million eur
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Cruise line Royal Caribbean chose Malaga this week to unveil its first ship dedicated to the lucrative Asian market. Spectrum of the Seas will be based in Shanghai and recently left a German shipbuilders for the long journey to China. The cruise line
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A study released by a Costa del Sol planning body has reported that 20 per cent of jobs in Malaga province, including the Costa del Sol, are in tourism. The percentage is a long way above the national average of 13.7 per cent and the Andalusian regio
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The first all-inclusive luxury hotel complex in Spain created by Greek chain Ikos is starting to take shape. Works have got under way to transform the current Hotel Princess in Estepona into a beachfront complex with 411 rooms and 11 swimming pools
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Cruise company, Royal Caribbean, has chosen Malaga as the first stop for its new liner, Spectrum of the Seas, which will dock in the city's port on 16 April straight from German shipbuilders, Meyer Werft. The company is promoting this latest addition
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Cruiseliner Norwegian Spirit, which welcomes guests with a multi-million-euro Versace rug, left the Port of Malaga on Tuesday after 13 trips of ten days each since November, moving some 26,000 passengers. Now the ship, with capacity for 2,200 pass
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The winter is over and the Costa del Sol is, in the most part, ready for the next influx of visitors for the high season. The majority of hotels which close during the winter have already reopened while the remainder will do so over the next week; th
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The peak season for cruises is beginning at Malaga Port, and from 20 March to 30 June, 113 ships are expected to visit the capital city of the Costa del Sol, carrying 180,000 passengers, according to figures from Malaga port. Here, the arrival of spr
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The EU-wide flight ban on the Max 8 model of the Boeing 737 has seen one aircraft, belonging to Norwegian, grounded indefinitely at Malaga Airport. The plane, which arrived on Tuesday from Oslo, was expected to take to the skies an hour later but has
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The fourth biggest airline in terms of movements at Malaga Airport, Norwegian, has announced that it is stepping up its links to and from the Costa del Sol this summer. A total of 1.45 million seats are available on flights between Malaga Airport a
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Turkish Airlines, the only operator connecting Malaga with Asia all year round, has announced that it will increase seat numbers on its flights to Istanbul by 30 per cent, with two flights a day. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways flights from the Costa del
Opinion
If the horizon for the tourism industry wasn't cloudy enough, the snap general election called for 28 April, combined with the municipal and European ballots on 26 May, create a scenario of uncertainty. In fact you could say that it goes beyond uncer
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British airline Easyjet has announced a new route between Malaga and Porto (Portugal) for this summer season. From 1 April flights will operate four times a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. With this new addition Easyjet fli
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Connections from the Costa del Sol to the Middle East are set to get even better this summer. Gulf Air, which flies from its hub in Bahrain, has announced that it will operate into Malaga from 14 June to 15 September. The new route is in addition
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Travellers from Malaga this summer will once again have a direct route to New York City after Delta Airlines announced that their Malaga-JFK route would be returning. The daily flights, which leave from the Costa del Sol at 8.15am, will run from 24
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Budget airline Ryanair has announced another new route from Malaga Airport. As from April, there will be two flights a week between the Costa del Sol and Tetouan in northern Morocco. This is the latest new route offered by the Irish company after
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A new Costa del Sol, with a renewed tourist offering, was presented to tourism operators and other industry professionals at a special dinner at the Palacio Duques de Pastrana on Wednesday night. Those in attendance were shown how the area had deve
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Despite the chaos of protests and taxi strikes outside, the Madrid Tourism Fair, known as Fitur, got under way on Wednesday morning with more stands and more countries represented than ever before. King Felipe and Queen Letizia opened the 39th edit
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MAlaga. Passenger figures at Malaga Airport broke the 19-million barrier in 2018 for the first time, despite the slump in growth in international tourism on the Costa del Sol. The total grew by 2.1% to 19,021,704 travellers, according to figures from
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Andalucía will be at the Fitur tourism fair in Madrid next week with more space than ever for local business owners. The acting regional Tourism minister, Francisco Javier Fernández, said last week that his department had made an "extraordinary" ef
National
Language tourism is looking pretty healthy in the capital city of the Costa del Sol. The president of the Association of Spanish Schools in Malaga (Nacem), José María Casero, said this week that between eight and ten per cent more language students a
Local
A survey has shown that there are eight per cent more seats available on flights programmed to and from Malaga airport up to May this year, compared to a year ago. The analysis by Turismo Costa del Sol, the local tourism authority, says that from
National
An urgent reform to the law was approved last week to make it easier for residents in communities of flats or houses to block their neighbours from renting out their homes over platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com. Up to now, the 'comunidad' of ow
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Finishing touches are being made to the transformation of three neighbouring hotels in Torremolinos owned by the same group into one unified complex. The well-known Don Pablo, Don Pedro and Don Marco hotels, in the Playamar area, will now be marke
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Data published on Wednesday said that, compared to 2017, 8 per cent more people passed through last month, reaching 1.1 million monthly passengers. Passengers to and from Spain grew 10.2 per cent and international users by 7.7 per cent.
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The head of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), run by the United Nations, was in Malaga on Tuesday to address local business leaders and politicians at a forum organised by SUR. Manuel Butler has recently taken over at the WTO, which is based in
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Flights to Tel Aviv will resume for the high season after the success of the route which debuted this year. From March to October, two flights a week will connect the Costa del Sol with the biggest city in Israel. The route will be operated by the
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The airport in Malaga is preparing for further growth and Terminal 2, which was built in 1991, is to be completely renovated so that its design matches that of the most modern area, Terminal 3. The Aena airports authority is planning to invest nea
National
Andalucía expects to reach the figure of 30 million tourists in 2018, despite the drop in British visitors to the region. The figure was announced by regional president, Susana Díaz, at the opening day of the World Travel Market in London. The fair
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The regional minister for Tourism, Francisco Javier Fernández, said at a SUR event on Monday that action must be taken to deal with the recent evidence of a fall in British tourist figures in Andalucía. This year's decrease in holidaymakers visitin
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The airport which serves the Costa del Sol is expecting to be extra busy this winter, because from now until the end of March the airlines are offering a total of 7.1 million seats to fly here. THE FIGURES 43,000 103 16 This is 15 per cent more th
Local
According to statistics released this week by Spain's national statistics office, Andalucía beat previous years' records in terms of visitor numbers this summer, while the Costa del Sol saw a decline in the number of visitors this September compared
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Last week, the giant of vacation rentals, Airbnb, announced that only tourist homes in Andalucía that comply with the regulations of the region and have a valid registration number are able to be featured on the site. This process has meant that the
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The USO and Sitcpla trade unions, together with representatives from Portugal, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Germany, have said that Ryanair cabin crews are considering calling further strikes before Christmas. First the trade unions will meet with rep
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October marks the start of the peak season for cruise ships in Malaga and this month alone 58 ships are expected to visit the port, with a total capacity of 106,000 passengers. Each ship is expected to be around 80 per cent booked, which means tha
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The Andalusian minister for Tourism, Francisco Javier Fernández, has announced a plan of action in response to the figures released last month that showed a slump in tourism in July. Statistics from Malaga airport reveal an even greater fall of 2.5
Local
The Jet2.com airline and its tour operating arm are looking for 125 new staff members to help boost its local team as it grows. In total 900 jobs are being offered across Spain. On the Costa del Sol specifically there are jobs in land operations
Local
As the summer comes to a close and industry analysts draw their conclusions from the latest tourism statistics, it has become clear that the record-breaking figures of 2017 were exceptional and difficult to equal. The July figures published by the
Opinion
We've reached the point where we can stop using the word 'record' in every headline. The minus sign has appeared in front of the most important tourism statistics on the Costa del Sol at the height of summer, after three consecutive years of record-b
Local
Four hundred Ryanair flights to and from Spain are to be cancelled this Wednesday, 25 July, and Thursday, 26 July due to strikes from cabin crew. A total 24 of these were scheduled to take off or land at Malaga airport. Flight cancellations and de
Local
Ryanair announced on Wednesday that it had emailed and texted passengers on 400 flights to and from Spain that will be cancelled next Wednesday, 25 July, and Thursday, 26 July. Airline cabin crews' unions in Belgium, Portugal and Spain are to strik
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The central government in Madrid has turned its attention this week to the problem of the uncontrolled growth in the amount of privately rented tourist accommodation. Prime minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday that wording would be modified to ex
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Strikes set to affect Ryanair passengers across four countries look set to go ahead after the airline rejected the demands of cabin crew during mediation talks on Tuesday. The cabin crew, represented in Spain by the USO and Sitcpla unions, are call
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Bosses at Malaga Airport have just finished the tendering process to refresh the selection of bars and restaurants for passengers. Coming in later this year is new sushi restaurant Kirei By Kabuki, by chef Ricardo Sanz, and Bibo Brioche Bar by local
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Holiday rental platform Spain-Holiday, based in Malaga, has removed 275 rental properties within the region that were not on the Andalusian Tourism Register from its database. "Ever since the regulations for tourist properties came in in 2016, Spai
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The new government has appointed the first ever female official government representative for the province of Malaga. María Gámez formerly led the PSOE opposition on Malaga city council and stood for mayor in 2011 and 2015. She took a break from poli
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The hotel group Barceló will be opening up in Fuengirola in late 2019. The new hotel, which will require an investment of 15 million euros, will be developed from the existing Hotel Las Pirámides site, next to the promenade. It will operate under the
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All arrivals and departures at self-catering accommodation booked though websites will automatically be passed to Hacienda, the Spanish tax office, from this month. Operators of the booking platforms will have to tell the government how much money
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A new campaign to promote the Costa del Sol's traditional beach restaurants, known as chriringuitos, kicks off with the celebration of the 1st Chiringuito Day on Wednesday 27 June. The initiative was announced on Monday by the president of the Asso
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Using a photo of Ronda's famous gorge, a luxury travel operator has included the Costa del Sol area in its new cruise brochure. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has recently been launched and Malaga features as one the Mediterranean ports to be used
Local
The busiest time of year for travel is about to start and this is when flight cancellations and delays are more likely. When this happens, people are usually entitled to make a claim against the airline but many fail to do so because they are going o
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The tourism sector in Malaga breathed a huge sigh of relief when agreement was reached in the early hours of Tuesday morning which meant that there would not, after all, be a strike by hotel staff and bar and restaurant workers during the peak summer
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The Andalusian Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the so-called 'Las Kellys' (a collective made up of hotel cleaning staff), obliging the hotel sector to apply the 'convenio' (collective workers' agreement) for the hotel sector to staff carrying ou
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One hundred thousand new tickets for the Caminito del Rey gorgeside walkway in El Chorro went on sale on Monday for the period June-October. According to the attraction's director, Francisco Campano: "Our forecasts are very positive. We expect to b
Local
Malaga airport overtook Palma de Mallorca to become the third busiest in Spain last month. 1.3 million passengers travelled through the airport in March, which coincided with Holy Week, an 8 per cent increase on the previous month. The airport rec
Opinion
The friendly greeting from the receptionist when you first arrive at a hotel and the smile from the waiter who serves you in the cafeteria or on the terrace are of vital importance. However it's just as fundamental, or even more so, for the room to b
Local
Saudi Arabia's national airline, Saudia Airlines, is due to launch new connections between Malaga and the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and with the tourist city of Jeddah. The routes will start operating on 9 and 11 June respectively. The president of t
Local
It was Holy Tuesday, and the people of Malaga walked in procession towards the Levante wharf in the port. This was not an Easter procession, however. They were doing so to take part in a unique event which would become part of the port's history: the
Local
Malaga is preparing to welcome the latest sea giant, the cruise ship Symphony of the Seas. The latest addition to Royal Caribbean's fleet, with a capacity of over 6,700 passengers, will be in the city on Tuesday for its international presentation.
Local
The Costa del Sol has seen an increase in Russian tourists by 11.3 per cent in the last year. Figures from the Costa's tourist board have shown that around 90,000 people from Russia visited the Costa del Sol last year. Russian visitors are particul
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Aena, the national airport operator, will shortly start investing 6.2 million euros in renovating Terminal 2 of Malaga Airport. The terminal is the older building, where Ryanair and Easyjet check-in desks are located. The contract have been awarde
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From now on, people wanting to rent a tourist apartment or house in Malaga city will be able to check online first to see if the accommodation is officially registered with the Andalusian regional government and therefore complies with the law. Mal
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Just like any other birthday celebration, there was cake on offer for the tourists flying with Jet2.com airline when it celebrated its 15th anniversary at Malaga airport on Monday. To mark this important anniversary Steve Heapy, the CEO of the airlin
Local
The international tourism fair, Fitur, taking place this week in Madrid, has seen more landmark figures for visitors to Spain announced. Regional president Susana Díaz opened the Andalucía section, the largest at the exhibition, with good news. As
Local
The Costa del Sol is moving up the ranking of profitable tourist destinations for hoteliers. According to a study by Exceltur, while the Costa del Sol in general is in the top 20, Marbella is second in the country after Ibiza in terms of RevPar (reve
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The opening of the World Travel Market (WTM) in London on Monday was met with plenty of enthusiasm, a strong indicator that the British market remains very active - a positive sign for tourism to Andalucía. President of regional government, Susana
Local
November marks the end of the summer season, although this year there were high hotel occupancy levels right up to the end of October and some hotels which had planned to close in the middle of the month decided to remain open a bit longer. A tota
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Major turbulence is jeopardising the low-cost airline business. Not only are thousands of passengers affected, but it is causing new concerns in the tourism sector in Malaga province. Consumer associations say people should always make an official
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Delta's promises to run the year-round direct flight between Malaga and New York in 2018 have been broken as the airline announced that the flight will only run in the summer. In its transatlantic flight schedule for 2018, the airline revealed tha
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The PP group in the regional parliament is calling for the Junta de Andalucía to set up a network of inland villages in order to provide support and training and to help them take advantage of the possible opportunities from increased tourist numbers
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The airport which serves the Costa del Sol has not been affected by the latest flight cancellations announced by Ryanair, although more passengers travelling to and from Malaga use that airline than any other. The cancellations will be from October
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The unstoppable growth of holiday rentals in the region has now seen numbers surpass those of hotels in both Malaga city and Marbella. Figures show that tourism properties, which have been regulated since 2016, have more than doubled in the past 15
Local
The Junta de Andalucía has issued a plea for more help from central government to stop the wave of claims against hoteliers by British holidaymakers for supposed illness while in Spain. Regional tourism minister, Francisco Javier Fernández, called
Local
Hoteliers are starting to get tough on the wave of British tourists suing over reported holiday illnesses. The organised claims from UK law firms have been affecting many areas of Spain and souring relations between the country and its most important
Local
The first direct flight from Malaga to Tel Aviv was launched on Sunday night, operated by the Israeli company El Al. Jets of water, which came from the Guadalhorce and Jordan rivers were released by fire engines to celebrate the inaugural flight.
Local
When passengers go to catch their flight at Malaga airport, there's no way for them to escape the duty-free shopping these days as the route from security control snakes past rows of glittering shelving. However, for the 16.6 million people that pass
Local
The seven duty free businesses at Malaga airport, which currently occupy over 3,200 square metres of space, are due to be refurbished this year to adapt them to new trends, with new fittings and the introduction of new brands. 2 million drinks are
Local
The traditional Toblerone or classic bag of sweets never seem to go out of fashion. Sources at the airport calculate that about one million of these are sold every year. 1.5 million sandwiches and snacks are sold each year in the 7,000 square metre
Local
An increasing number of passengers are buying products from Malaga these days. The most popular is local wine, with about 60,000 bottles a year being sold. There are plans to expand the range of products from Malaga in the future.
Local
By units, vodka is sold most at Malaga airport, although by sector the top seller is perfume. In terms of drinks, gin is the second most popular. 15,000 products are on sale in the duty free shops at Malaga airport, with perfume being the most pop
Local
It is now nearly ten months since new regulations were introduced to ensure that properties which are used as holiday accommodation are registered with the Andalusian tourism authorities, and fears that this would have a negative effect on the sector
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The Meliá hotel group will take over the running of the Atalaya Park Hotel, located between Estepona and Marbella, from next year. The group will invest 18 million euros in refitting the building and will operate the hotel under its Sol by Meliá br
Local
The cruise ship Freedom of the Seas, one of the giants in the fleet of cruise-operators Royal Caribbean, was in Malaga on Thursday after crossing the Atlantic and reaching the Mediterranean for the first time. The ship, which has space for 4,300 pa
Local
From May 2018, it will be possible to fly directly from Malaga airport to the Qatari capital, Doha, according to an announcement at this week's Arabian Travel Market. The Costa del Sol airport is one of nine new additions to Qatar Airways' extensi
Local
The Association of Costa del Sol hotels (Aehcos) revealed on Monday that Holy Week and Easter weekend saw a record number of tourists visit the coast for this time of year, which they believe bodes well for the summer period. The attraction of Mal
Local
The group of falcons at Malaga airport, used to keep other birds from interfering in the takeoff and landing of planes, is gearing up for high season. Birds on or near the runway or approach routes can pose a risk to flights. The falcons were just
Local
The group of falcons at Malaga airport, used to keep other birds from interfering in the takeoff and landing of planes, is gearing up for high season. Birds on or near the runway or approach routes can pose a risk to flights. The falcons were just
Local
Seatrade Cruise Med, the most important cruise-industry trade fair in the Mediterranean and nearby area, will be held in Malaga in 2020. Bosses from major world shipping companies, representatives of ports and delegates from component industries wi
Local
The low-cost Irish airline, Ryanair, has announced that it will offer 50 routes from Malaga for next winter, including several new destinations. This increase will see the company operating the largest ever number of routes during the low tourist s
Local
Low-cost airline, Norwegian, will start three new routes from Malaga airport next month as well as increasing their onboard capacity by just over 20 per cent for the summer period, adding nearly 230,000 extra seats for passengers in total. The airl
Local
Until this week, anyone planning a trip to the Caminito del Rey, the famous daredevil walkway in El Chorro, has not been able to book a slot for any later than 31 May. However, it is now possible to purchase tickets for June through to September from
Local
Flight schedules are always a good way of measuring tourism prospects for the Costa del Sol, and 2017 looks like being another record year as the airlines which operate to and from Malaga have put 15.5 million seats on sale for flights from now until
Local
Representatives from eight tourist towns on Spain's Costas, including Torremolinos, and the Canary Islands met in Madrid this week to form an alliance of tourism-based municipalities. They hope that by joining forces they will carry more weight, for
Local
Kuwaiti chain Costa del Sol Hotels has opened a new boutique hotel in Torremolinos which caters for the Arab market. The establishment, just three hundred metres from the beach, has 36 rooms. Named Costa del Sol Torremolinos Boutique Hotel, this is
Local
Tourism companies and professionals from Andalucía have been showcasing the region's qualities as a tourist destination at the 51st edition of the world's leading tourism trade fair, ITB, in Berlin. The president of Andalucía Susana Díaz was also p
Local
Government statistics have shown that there were 15 per cent more foreign tourists in Andalucía in January compared to the same month last year. Of the Spanish regions that receive the most international visitors, Andalucía saw the biggest increas
Local
A hundred tourism officials and representatives of hotel and travel companies from Andalucía will travel to Berlin next week for the ITB fair. The huge event is recognised as the most important in the world for the volume of business generated for th
Local
Passengers wanting to travel between the Costa del Sol and the UK this year will find more options available as the total number of seats available is to increase by 15%. "In total there are around 3.5 million seats on flights to the Costa del Sol,
Local
Despite already boasting numerous direct flights around the globe, Turismo Costa del Sol is striving to reach out to destinations to which there are no direct flights. One such destination is Israel. From May, the airline company Sund'or, subsidiar
Local
The President of the Junta de Andalucía, Susana Díaz, officially opened the huge Andalucía stand at the Fitur travel show in Madrid on Wednesday amid official forecasts that 2017 is set to be another record year for tourism in southern Spain. Touri
Local
The President of the Junta de Andalucía, Susana Díaz, officially opened the huge Andalucía stand at the Fitur travel show in Madrid on Wednesday amid official forecasts that 2017 is set to be another record year for tourism in southern Spain. Touri
Local
A year to remember: 2016 was a record year for Malaga airport, with an extra two million passengers compared with 2015, bringing the total to 16.6 million. Figures issued this week by the Aena airports authority showed a growth of 15.7 per cent, almo
Local
The statistics regarding activity at Malaga airport are the best way of gauging how tourism is evolving, and that in turn is a sign of the state of health of the province's principal industry. The busy month of October, when the number of passengers
Local
The latest edition to Malaga's burgeoning hotel scene is getting close to opening its doors. The Gran Hotel Miramar is nearing the end of a two-year restoration and is expected to see its first guests staying overnight from the second half of next mo
Local
A study by one of the leading names in the travel industry has painted a rosy picture of the future of the luxury tourism market. The report was carried out for Madrid-based Amadeus, the world's largest travel agents' reservation system. Accordi