Tourism and hospitality sectors report an 'exceptional' Easter holiday period on the Costa del Sol

Malaga province's restaurateurs and business owners are describing this year’s Holy Week trade as “exceptional” and “historic” as Easter festivities brought in thousands of tourists spending lots of cash.

It was also described as the first completely normal Easter week in the post-pandemic era, as masks were still mandatory indoors last year.

A string of sunny days, which had not been the case in the past few years, meant tourists were out in restaurants, bars and chiringuitos, pumping money into the local economy.

The president of the hospitality sector on the Costa del Sol (Mahos), Javier Frutos, said the turnover in bars and restaurants would be well above 2022.

"This is the first time in many years that it has not rained on any day of the week. This has benefited both the accommodation, which has been above other years in terms of bookings, and the hospitality and catering businesses,” he said.

“In addition, last year there were still traces of the pandemic, so we can say that this has been the first Holy Week with real normality that we have been able to enjoy after Covid.”

But Frutos said profitability was still down despite the massive injection of tourist euros.

“Costs have risen a lot and profitability is still below that of 2019,” he said.

"There are companies that are still heavily indebted since the crisis, like Covid. Periods of high turnover such as Easter and Christmas are very important to balance accounts.”

Hotel and holiday home occupancy rates were also higher than last year. The latest figures showed a rate of more than 84% for the average of the whole festive week. Hotel occupancy in Malaga exceeded 95% as visitors flooded the city to watch Holy Week processions.

Employment generated by the hospitality industry in Malaga in the first quarter of this year was 9%, above the same period in 2022. Frutos hoped this growth would reach 10% in the second quarter.

"It could have been the best Easter Week in history, probably, because this year has been exceptional," the president of the local association of beach business traders, Manuel Villafaina, added.

He believed that the Costa del Sol was attracting tourists "with greater purchasing power" and this was reflected in an increase in the average rate.