Malaga closes its record-breaking summer fair

More fair-goers have chosen to enjoy the nighttime festivities of Malaga's fairground than the daytime parties in the centre of the city this summer.

The 2022 figures started to show this trend, and this year's Malaga feria confirmed that people preferred the Cortijo de Torres location over the centre. In addition to the scores of people visible to the eye of anyone who attended, it's also backed up by the numbers. According to Malaga City Council, which sent out an extensive report on Sunday 20 August, during the eight days of the Malaga fair, some 1,208 tonnes of rubbish were collected at fairground, an increase of 8.6% compared to last year.

There was almost a 27% increase of trash picked up at the fairgrounds, while figures in the city centre remained about the same compared to last year. In Cortijo de Torres, 476 tonnes of rubbish were collected. In the centre of Malaga, the amount of rubbish collected was about the same as the previous year, with a decrease of 0.5%. Without an official figure for total attendance, data for the amount of rubbish collected can be used as an accurate measurement of people's movements at the fair.

Mobility

The second measure of understanding the total attendance is mobility, which also recorded historical figures. The city's EMT service recorded 1,663,594 journeys on public transport during this year's fair, an increase of 14% compared to 2022.

The city council highlighted the record number of 195,626 public transport passengers in Malaga on Friday 18 August, some 36% more than on the same day last year. "In the entire history of EMT there has never been such a high number of passengers," it added.

Less occupancy, more spending

According to initial estimates, the same number of visitors passed through the city than last year, but they have spent more this year. The Association of Hotel Businessmen of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos) estimated that the Malaga fair contributed to a hotel occupancy rate of 87.30%, slightly lower than last year's figure of 89.71%. But they pointed out that the economic impact of this year has been greater than that of 2022, generating 11.7 million euros, compared to 10.2 million last year.

"This is an economic impact that stays in the area," said the vice-president of Aehcos in Malaga city, Francisco Moro. "This is a positive thing as tourist activity brings economic value to the city, generates employment and benefits the companies that supply the hotel establishments."

Concerts and shows

According to the city council, more than 971,000 people visited the more than 200 free shows scheduled this year. The figures for the different activities are 5% higher than in 2022, while around 95% of the artists who took part are from Malaga.

More than 350,000 people attended the drone and fireworks display, which officially opened the Malaga fair. While the opening speech given by Alberto Díaz was watched by 10,000 people and about 56,814 people passed through the municipal auditorium, almost 6,000 more than in 2022.