Malaga closes a record year in tourism with revenues growing at three times the rate of visitors

The province of Málaga and its Costa del Sol recorded in 2024 the best tourism year in its history with 14.47 million visitors, a 3.17% increase from the previous year, and an economic impact reaching 21.223 billion euros, which represents a growth of 10.9% in this area. The Málaga Provincial Council, which presented its 2024 Tourism Report this Wednesday, believes that the evolution of the figures certifies the strategy undertaken in recent years of "promoting quality over quantity" and betting on destocking to offer a destination "open 365 days a year".

"The revenue generated by tourism has grown three times more than the arrival of visitors," commented the president of the Provincial Council, Francisco Salado, accompanied by Esperanza González, CEO of Tourism Costa del Sol, and Antonio Díaz, managing director of Tourism and Planning Costa del Sol.

"Tourism is the main economic and employment engine in the province, in Andalusia, and in Spain," said the head of the Provincial Council, who criticized a certain political sector for having "cheered on" "tourism phobia" from "some interested circles", something he considered a "big mistake". He also denied that tourism is the cause of the housing problem, attributing it to the lack of a strategy "for many years" by public administrations in this area, something that "has been recognized to allocate more public resources and land for VPO (social housing) developments".

An "extraordinary" year

Salado described the tourism year as "extraordinary" and "record-breaking" and highlighted that the strategy of both the sector and the public body Tourism Costa del Sol is to improve hotel profitability and the economic impact figure rather than increasing the number of visitors (which have grown, in any case, by 472,000 people over the previous year).

"In 2024 we had more visitors than ever but the revenue generated by tourism has tripled compared to the arrival of visitors," he insisted. Of the total 21.223 billion attributed to tourism, 12.225 billion correspond to direct activity and 8.998 billion to indirect and induced activity.

Additionally, employment has grown by 7% to reach an average of 137,400 jobs, according to the EPA for the first three quarters of 2024. Meanwhile, the hotel profitability indicator (Revpar) has increased by 6% to 94.85 euros.

"It is a more sustainable growth, of better quality, and higher profitability, in which we have been working hand in hand with the sector for years. We wanted to break seasonality and we are now open 365 days a year. Costa del Sol has once again demonstrated its strength as the leading tourist destination in Andalusia and as one of the most important in Spain and Europe," he commented.

Caution in 2025

However, the president of the Provincial Council called for caution, reminding of the presence of geopolitical uncertainty factors such as various international armed conflicts and the economic difficulties facing Spanish families due to factors such as rising prices, which this year, he recalled, resulted in a decrease in national tourists on the Costa del Sol (the drop was 7%).

The president of the Provincial Council, Francisco Salado, accompanied by Esperanza González, CEO of Tourism Costa del Sol, and Antonio Díaz, managing director of Tourism and Planning Costa del Sol. / Alex Zea

The accommodation offer on the Costa del Sol, including tourist rental homes, has already exceeded 659,000 places by the end of 2024, a 13% increase from 2024. The report also highlights the 12.4 million passengers estimated to have arrived at the Málaga Airport in this past year, with an annual increase of 11%. Cruise passengers, on the other hand, have decreased by 7.7% to 465,000. Salado downplayed this decline, which is due to different strategies of the shipping companies, and explained that for Málaga, the tourist who stays overnight in the city is more valuable than the one who is just passing through, although all are important.

Travelers staying in regulated establishments (hotels, apartments, campgrounds, etc.) have grown by 1.5% and reached 7.19 million by November, with 30.5 million overnight stays. The hotel occupancy rate was 62.2% throughout 2024 (0.97% above that of 2023), with peaks of "almost full" at high points (summer or Holy Week, for example). The foreign market, which has grown by 6.9%, is driving the increase in figures, offsetting the decline in national visitors.

The strategic international markets for Costa del Sol are, in their top positions, Spain (2.45 million travelers), United Kingdom (1.18 million travelers), Germany (341,568), France (334,176), Netherlands (332,044), Ireland (307,714), Italy (243,803), and the United States (220,615). Salado highlighted the interannual increase of 26% in the influx of North American tourists, a factor he linked, among others, to the activity of the Málaga-New York flight. "We have managed to get them interested in Costa del Sol," stated the president, who is confident that in the coming years there will be direct flights with more U.S. cities (efforts are being made for future connections with Miami and Atlanta).

As for the first outlook for 2025, the figures are initially favorable. The first forecasts for flight seats with Málaga Airport for this first four-month period are 4.16 million, 10% more than in the same period of 2024. "There is interest in flying to Costa del Sol: our main markets are increasing their seat offer. We are working in the right direction, with the goal of reducing seasonality, prioritizing quality over quantity, and also hotel profitability and employment," he assured.

Passengers at Málaga airport. / Álex Zea