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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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
Local
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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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