Torremolinos has recognized this Saturday in a ceremony held at the city’s Conference Center the pioneers of tourism, those people who with their work contributed to the flourishing of what was a nascent industry at the time and who with their legacy are a fundamental piece of what is today the Costa del Sol.

The mayor of the municipality, Margarita del Cid, and the president of the Diputación de Málaga and Turismo Cota del Sol, Francisco Salado, have attended an act in which the representatives of the different sectors that make up the tourism industry have seen their “work, tenacity and courage” to transform Torremolinos and the Costa del Sol.

Salado stated that “this act does justice to all those who made this change possible” and pointed out that the Costa del Sol “was a pioneer, and continues to be, in many areas thanks to the professionals who dedicate themselves body and soul” to their businesses.

The president recalled that more than 14,000 companies and 117,000 families make a living from the sector in the province and stated that tourism “is the industry of leisure, fun, security and happiness; and, in these attributes, the Costa del Sol is the undisputed leader».

Despite the uncertainty of the current situation, marked by the war in Ukraine, the rise in the price of raw materials and the energy crisis, the Costa del Sol has reached this summer – from June to August – the records of 2019, which was the best tourist year in history, with revenues that have touched 7,400 million euros and the visit of 5.7 million tourists.

“Torremolinos plays a fundamental role in the Costa del Sol as a whole, which now sets itself the objectives of strengthening, consolidating and recovering those indicators that we can still improve in the coming months,” said Salado, who alluded to the push of the public and private sectors to continue innovating, seek new market niches and offer a better service to tourists.

In addition, he stressed that in the coming months special attention will be paid to “energy nomads”, with specific promotional actions for the coldest countries in Europe, where the energy crisis is most affecting, so that they can spend the winter on the Costa del Sun.

The president, who has shown his rejection of the application of a tourist tax, has pointed out among the challenges of the sector those related to technology and digitization, sustainability, connectivity and competitiveness.

TORREMOLINOS, PIONEER CITY

For her part, the mayor stressed that “what Torremolinos had that no other place had was you, the pioneers of tourism. Those of you who knew how to build a business model, but also a lifestyle, a particular idiosyncrasy, as no one had known how to do it up to that moment».

Thus, he has had words of remembrance and admiration for the hoteliers who for 70 years have opted for the town so that it has “a first-class hotel plant”; to the beach businessmen, “a fundamental piece and who have had to fight over the years to regularize their situation”, or to the hoteliers and merchants of Calle San Miguel.

“In 1960, the rental of premises on our most emblematic street cost a whopping 5,000 pesetas per month, which gives a measure of the popularity of a street that also became an international benchmark”, Del Cid has indicated. used to express his “commitment to revitalize and recover the essence of this commercial artery”.

Nightlife has been another of the honored sectors, which found its space in Torremolinos in the 1960s, attracting numerous international artists. In addition, the councilor has thanked “those sectors that allowed tourism to be professionalized as an industry, tour operators, travel agencies and guides”; without forgetting the Palacio de Congresos de Torremolinos, “which also played an essential role as the embassy of this city”, she indicated.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *