The mayor of Mijas, Josele González (PSOE), and the first deputy mayor and councillor for Tourism, José Carlos Martín (Cs), presented on Thursday the 19th at the exhibition space of the Costa del Sol stand at Fitur 2023 in Madrid the new promotional campaign of the municipality under the slogan ‘Mijas, rural and sustainable’. “In this edition, we have come to Madrid with the clear objective of continuing to grow as regards rural tourism. This segment has been increasing exponentially in Mijas in the last two years and we want to consolidate it, as it is another factor to break the seasonality, create employment and generate opportunities”, said the mayor, who added that “the Town Hall has already been working on this type of tourism 365 days a year, also promoting the 12 golf courses that the town boasts”.
The new promotion of the destination highlights four fundamental features to attract this type of visitors: the hiking trails in the mountains, the typical Andalusian white village, the gastronomy and the handicrafts. “There are several factors that differentiate us from our direct competitors in this segment and can be decisive when it comes to rural tourists choosing one place or another, among them, the diversity of the outdoor offer with the combination of mountain, nature and sea, as well as the opportunity to enjoy the silence and calm of sparsely populated areas with all kinds of services within easy reach”, said Martín, who pointed out that “in Mijas you can live all kinds of experiences and sensations typical of rural tourism”. Growing demand The demand for rural destinations is increasing among the national public, having experienced a growth of 5 points in recent years (42% by 2022), in addition to repeating their visits more frequently. According to the Rural Tourism Observatory, the prospects for 2023 are on the rise, as 82% of these travellers plan to repeat the experience this year and, the vast majority say they intend to make at least two rural getaways. The municipality has already been considered one of Spain’s leading destinations for rural tourism on the coast, as well as being declared Rural Capital in 2022 in the province of Malaga. In Mijas, there are 46 rural lodgings and 87 rural tourist accommodations, to which must be added the rest of the holiday lodgings and the many hotels.
Establishing contacts in the sector
It seems that rural tourism is in excellent health and that the Mijas destination is attracting great interest. This was corroborated during the meetings that the Mijas delegation held at Fitur with representatives of portals such as ‘Escapada Rural’. According to its Marketing Director, Olivia Fontela, “we have carried out a study which shows that Andalusia is on the podium of the three most visited autonomous communities, so we think that Mijas’ commitment to rural tourism is a success”. The tour operator I’mexperience, which organises personalised trips, including original experiences, also visited Mijas. In addition to the commitment to rural tourism, Mijas has been working to approach the Japanese market through a meeting held with representatives of the Spanish-Japanese Tourism Association. The government team also met with the general manager of the Gran Hotel Costa del Sol, Manuel Camacho, to discuss their proposals.
Share it with this link: https://mijasint.com/?a=26401
