The Mijas Town Hall has created a new public-private tourism board aimed at integrating the business sector into joint strategic decision-making. Key aspects such as destination promotion and planning, and joint projects, will form the core of this initiative, which will be known as Mijas Lab-Tourism Cluster. The Grand Lounge at the Wyndham Costa del Sol hosted the meeting.
The mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP); the regional minister for Tourism of the Junta de Andalucía, Arturo Bernal; the councillor for Tourism, Francisco Jerez (Vox); and the secretary general for Tourism of the Junta de Andalucía, Yolanda de Aguilar, presided on Monday 23rd over the launch of the forum, “which is intended to be permanent and, above all, has two very clear objectives: for us to be a leading municipality in the tourism sector and to provide employment opportunities for those living in our municipality”, highlighted Ana Mata, while the councillor for Tourism emphasised that “this meeting will also enable us to gather the concerns of each sector, all with a view to seeking solutions with the relevant authorities”.
For his part, the Andalusian minister for Tourism applauded the initiative of The Mijas Town Hall to apply, as he put it, co-governance in this area, “by calling upon the professionals who are the heart, soul and smile of everything that happens in tourism, and ensuring that they too are involved in decision-making alongside the administration regarding the municipality’s tourism policy”.
Members
The launch of the Mijas Lab-Tourism Cluster was attended and supported by the presidents of the main tourism associations in the province of Málaga: José Luque, of the Costa del Sol Hotel Entrepreneurs Association (Aehcos); Javier Frutos, of the Málaga Hotel Entrepreneurs Association (Mahos), who emphasised the importance of communication in working towards the common good: the improvement of our destination. “All the problems we face regarding connectivity, beaches, water, and competition with other destinations… everything is solved with resources, obviously, but communication is also very important”, said Luque, to which Frutos added that “there are clear examples in other municipalities that have worked very well, such as the Costa del Sol Permanent Tourism Commission or the Málaga Tourism Forum, so I am sure that this working group will also have a positive influence here in Mijas”.
Also taking part in this inaugural meeting were the president of the Beach Business Association, Manuel Villafaina, and the president of the Mijas Golf Clubs Association, Sean Corte Real; the head of the Málaga Tourist Guides Association, Sergio Garrido; the CEO of Exploramás, Manuel Araújo; the director of CRN Hostelería-CIOMijas, Raquel Hidalgo; the president of the Andalusian Car Hire Business Association, Félix Pinar; and the director of Investur, Javier Fructuoso.
Also in attendance were the president of Cepyme Mijas-Fuengirola, Ana María de la Torre; Adolfo Trigueros, from the Mijas Business Circle; Guillermo Martín, president of the Mijas Radiotaxi Association; the Mijas Craft Association, represented by Humildad Ríos, a member of the board of directors; and the Mijas Beach Business Association, represented by its president, Carlos Morales.
Rail connectivity
One of the most controversial topics at this working meeting was rail connectivity in Málaga, in the run-up to Holy Week. Here in Mijas, this situation is causing a general decline in bookings at hotels, restaurants and golf courses, among other sectors, “affecting more than 800 businesses in Mijas and over 7,000 people in the tourism sector”, the mayoress noted. The councillor for Tourism also stated that “this problem translates into economic losses of 130 million euros in the municipality of Mijas alone and 1.3 billion across the entire Costa del Sol”.
The lack of AVE rail links between Málaga and Madrid since the accident in Adamuz two months ago is also causing a drastic reduction in business-related visits to our province, stated the president of Mahos, “from people who used to travel back and forth in a day or stay for a night for professional reasons or conferences, not to mention weekend tourism, which has also been severely affected”. On this point, the head of Aehcos explained that “as a measure, hotels in the province are lowering their prices to try to attract more international demand, thanks to the fact that the airport continues to draw in quite a few people”. The most optimistic view came from Villafaina, who emphasised that “Málaga and the Costa del Sol have sufficient capacity to ensure that Holy Week is the best it can be”.
Taking advantage of this meeting, the regional minister for Tourism once again called on the central government to work swiftly to restore normality to the high-speed rail line, while describing as unfortunate the comments made on social media by the minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, towards the Málaga press. “The government now has an obligation to deliver results, provide information and manage the situation. We are not interested in anything else, neither disputes, nor insults, nor confrontation. We just want effective management”, he stated.
Coastal conservation
Beach business owners also expressed their concern about the storms that have occurred throughout the winter, causing numerous incidents in their wake. In this regard, the mayoress Ana Mata stressed that Mijas needs a comprehensive plan for the conservation and maintenance of its entire coastline, that also protects the beach bar sector, “which also makes a significant financial effort to refurbish its establishments, and cannot constantly worry that their premises will be affected by heavy swells”. In this regard, Villafaina noted that “we must follow the example of other countries and install breakwaters or groynes along our coastline, as well as the odd jetty”.
Mobility
Road transport was also a topic of discussion at this meeting, where the deterioration of the A7 motorway and motorway tolls were highlighted as the main problems, “and we must find a solution to this gridlock in our transport network, not just in summer but now in winter too”, stated the councillor for Tourism. In this area, regional minister Arturo Bernal reported that “the Regional Government is allocating 500 million euros to ensure that no town in Andalusia is cut off by road”.
Promotion and planning
Mijas Lab-Tourism Cluster will serve as a forum for proposals and analysis of the tourism landscape in Mijas, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. It will be held every two months in different locations and will act as a link between the public sector and the private sector to prioritise needs and projects that boost visitor numbers, improve market segments and attract investment.
According to Mata, it will also be the appropriate forum for discussing and organising tourism around Mijas’ various attractions, such as Holy Week, the fairs, the carnival, or sporting and unique events, where the tourism approach must also incorporate the private sector’s vision in terms of original proposals or targeting specific tourist markets.
Mijas Lab will operate with an agenda that includes current issues relating to the tourism sector, as well as proposals put forward by the business community concerning the tourism industry in the municipality.
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