Around 27 Big Spenders among the hotel chains that line the Costa del Sol are planning to invest heavily in upgrades and enhancements this winter. The record-breaking numbers of tourists this year have prompted an unprecedented urge to splurge it seems. Between them, the 27 establishments will be spending a total of 56 million Euros on refurbishments, according to Luis Callejón Suñé, president of the Association of Hoteliers of the Costa del Sol.
All good news for next year's holidaymakers, but also good news for Costa del Sol residents, as it creates temporary jobs during the winter season and offers upgraded local amenities, when the renovations are done.
The Association's president explained that the expansion is scheduled during low season because fewer hotel guests will be staying in the area, so hotels can close down for three months while the works are being carried out.
Remaining one Step ahead of the Competition
This year's investment is a huge step up from the 28 million Euros spend last year on renovations and represents the last stance of a total investment of 168 million Euros that has been spent over the last three years on improvements to Malaga Province's hotel sector.
This time the refurbishment works will concentrate on Torremolinos, where the proposed merging of the Riu Costa Lago and Riu Belplaya hotels will create a stunning new mini-resort complex with more than 600 rooms, five bars and three restaurants, an indoor water park and three outdoor pools.
After long years of austerity caused by the global economic crisis, the hotel sector is quite aware that to maintain current tourist numbers and future interest in the Costa del Sol's resort, hoteliers must spend money on improvements. What had also become clear during those long years of financial crisis was that the region's tourism sector had been surprisingly stable, with historic tourist numbers remaining fairly constant throughout the difficult times.
Unlike Marbella, Torremolinos has never had a glamorous image. The Rough Guide for Andalucia called it “a drab, soulless landscape of kitchenette apartments and half-finished developments”. However, “Torrie's” town council has shown great determination in the last few years to change all that and to make considerable improvements to bring the town in line with modern tourists' expectations of what a holiday resort should provide in terms of amenities and holiday accommodation, what it should look like as an attractive town.
Torremolinos' seafront promenade, which stretches all the way to La Carihuela, has seen quite a few improvements, as has Torrie's Old Town. This latest investment will help Torremolinos to attract more upmarket type tourism in future and will offer current house hunters plenty of food of thought. For those who cannot afford to buy a Marbella holiday home or retirement residence in Malaga, good old Torrie may well be the answer.