On Monday 15th, the mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), highlighted the Town Hall's commitment to the “total quality” of its beaches during the presentation of the nine Q for Quality and S for Sustainability awards. The ceremony took place at the Andalucía Lab building in Marbella, attended by the acting Regional Minister for Tourism of the Andalusian Regional Government, Arturo Bernal. "Mijas is the second municipality in Europe with the highest number of Q for Quality and S for Sustainability certifications", said Mata, who emphasised that this is the result of "the work carried out every day of the year to ensure that Mijas is an excellent municipality in terms of beaches, maintenance and conservation, backed up by regular inspections".

These seals, awarded by the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality and Sustainability (ICTES), have been granted to La Luna-Royal Beach, Alhamar, Calahonda, Riviera, El Bombo, La Cala, La Dorada, El Chaparral and El Charcón beaches. "Mijas is synonymous with quality tourism, the quality of its people, the quality of its tourist services and, of course, the quality of its beaches", said the mayoress at the presentation, where she was accompanied by the councillor for Beaches, Daniel Gómez Teruel (PP).

 

Mata highlighted that these awards are granted season after season “thanks to the efforts made by the Mijas Town Hall to ensure our coastline is a model of cleanliness, services, safety and hygiene”. She also noted that La Luna-Royal Beach, Riviera, El Bombo and La Cala beaches are recognised for their universal accessibility for everyone wishing to enjoy them.

In addition to these Q and S awards, Mijas retains its five Blue Flags for water quality for the 2026 and 2027 season at La Luna-Royal Beach, Riviera, El Bombo, El Chaparral and La Cala, with the official presentation due to take place shortly. “Mijas maintains or improves all the criteria that recognise the quality of its beaches and complementary services, as demonstrated by the fact that we have also renewed the Blue Trail designation for the Coastal Path and the Blue Centre for the El Torreón interpretation centre”

An Andalusian benchmark

Furthermore, the mayoress pointed out that since the 1st of June, the Town Hall has maintained its full-time lifeguard service, operating daily from 11:00 to 20:00, to ensure the safety of swimmers and users of the municipality’s 16 beaches

 

Until the 30th of September, 62 lifeguards will monitor the entire coastline every day, making it the best-staffed service in the whole of Andalusia. In addition to these 62 full-time staff, there are a further 24 support staff, making a total of 86 people.

This deployment is the result of a two-year contract awarded to the company Socorrismo Málaga, at an annual cost of 1.56 million euros, with the option of a two-year extension.

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One of the main new features of this contract is the installation of a public address system to manage any emergency or alarm, using pre-recorded messages in different languages.

As for the vehicles making up the service, the mayoress reported that these consist of an ambulance; three jet skis (based in La Luna, La Cala and El Charcón); two bicycles for patrolling the Coastal Path, a rescue buggy and a rescue drone.

Regarding the workforce, 90% of the lifesaving and lifeguard service is made up of registered Mijas residents, “because the Town Hall prioritises local employment in municipal services”, the mayoress concluded.

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