Almost half the tourists visiting rural Andalucía chose Malaga province

Malaga province continues to be a very attractive destination for rural tourism. During the month of June 40,275 travellers stayed in rural houses in Andalucía. Of these, almost half, chose Malaga. Rural tourism visits are up a quarter more than before the pandemic in the province and ten per cent more in the region.

The average stay of visitors who choose Malaga for rural tourism is 3.8 days, compared to average of 3.1 days for the region. Tourists not only visit Malaga, but also spend more time here than in other destinations. Although the average stay has dropped by 11.8% year-on-year in Malaga compared to the 7.7% drop registered in Andalucía.

In any case, the numbers for the last month of June compare very well with those for June 2019, that is, with the pre-pandemic ones. Before the health crisis the number of visitors to the region was 36,337 (now they are 10% more); and those who chose Malaga province numbered 14,849 (an increase of more than 25%). This means that, to a large extent, the growth of rural tourism in Andalucía is due to the pull of Malaga province.

According to figures from the Andalusian Institute of Statistics and Cartography (IECA), the tourist area that received the most visitors in June was the Sierras de Tejeda Natural Park, Almijara and Alhama, with 3,679, 11.7% more than a year earlier. Next was the Costa del Sol, with 3,674 visitors, in this case 2.8% less than a year earlier. And thirdly, the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park with almost 2,100 visitors, 65% more.