The Costa del Sol region is a popular holiday destination for British travellers, with the airport seeing a high volume of British passengers throughout the year. The airport also connects with many flights to various UK cities making it a well-established and attractive destination for British tourists.
Even on a global scale, Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport is incredibly popular with tourists and is the busiest airport in Andalusia. Now, in response to the mass tourism, the president of the Spanish airport operator ‘Aena’, Maurici Lucena Betriu, has made an expansion presentation on the the unstoppable growth of the Costa del Sol airport, to the mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, and the president of the Provincial Council, Francisco Salado.
Mr Betriu said: “This major project is a clear demonstration of Aena’s commitment to connectivity and development in the province of Málaga and Andalusia,” explained the president.
He said that “airports serve the territories they are located in to ensure and enhance mobility for their citizens and businesses.”However, although this plan may seem great on an international scale, there has been growing discontent amongst locals, particularly in Malaga, regarding the impacts of tourism – which this development will only intensify.
Locals, like in other parts of Spain, are becoming increasingly vocal about the negative consequences of mass tourism, including the strain on infrastructure, increased noise and litter, and a feeling that their cities are becoming “theme parks”.
There have been numerous protests in Malaga and other areas of the Costa del Sol, with locals expressing their frustration and demanding action to control tourism and its impact. One recent protest in Malaga drew 15,000 participants.
In response to these concerns, the Costa del Sol has started to implement measures to restrict the number of new tourist accommodations, particularly in areas deemed “saturated”. Malaga, for example, has banned the registration of new tourist flats in 43 districts for three years.