Málaga

Malaga ranks best for British breaks

December 30, 2011
General News
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costa del sol, málaga, Spain, tourism

MALAGA was the favourite destination for British tourists this summer. With Palma de Mallorca in second place, six Spanish cities appear in the top 10 holiday destinations in July, August and September 2011.

This was revealed in a global ranking report prepared by Spanish holiday property rental portal HomeAway.es following a survey of 1,213 users in November 2011.

The Costa del Sol was picked by Britons over prime European destinations including London, Tuscany (Italy) and Nice (France). Ibiza came in sixth, while Costa Blanca towns of Javea, Moraira and Denia shared 10th place.

Nearly half of Brits chose a beach resort, while more than a quarter chose rural and inland towns.

Laura Rivera-Casares, head of sales for HomeAway.es said: “The majority of enquiries by British tourists continue to be for Spanish beach resorts, but it is interesting to note growing interest in rural and inland tourism.”

The total spent by all visitors to Spain this summer was €19.7 billion, an eight per cent increase on the same period of 2010, government tourism statistics office, Egatur, figures show. Other Press reports incorrectly show this amount to be €19.7 million, due to an error in the HomeAway press release.

In the 11 months to November 30, British tourists spent more in Spain than any other nationality, with €9.9 billion, a 1.9 per cent increase on 2010. But figures show that despite more British tourists travelling to Spain in 2011, on average they are spending €708 each, 10.4 per cent less than last year.

They were followed by German tourists with €8.3 billion, a 2.4 per cent increase. Last month tourists spent €347 million in Andalucia, 17 per cent less than the same month of 2010.

Around 80 per cent of tourists visiting Andalucia arrive at Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport, official estimates show. It is expected 13 million passengers will use the airport this year.

Source: Malaga ranks best for British breaks.

Antonio Banderas y María Barranco se suman para que el Auditorio se llame Edgar Neville

December 20, 2011
Málaga News
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costa del sol, culture, málaga

Sorry, this entry is only available in Español.

Twinkle toes

December 6, 2011
Málaga News, What's on Costa del Sol East
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costa del sol, culture, málaga

THE Russian National Ballet will be performing the Christmas classic The Nutcracker at the Cervantes Theatre in Malaga on December 22 and 30.

Province’s new roads pass progress test after first month open to traffic

December 5, 2011
Costa del Sol News
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communications, costa del sol, málaga

The new outer ring road now absorbs 30 per cent of the traffic around the city, with an average of 25,000 vehicles a day

A full month has gone by since the Malaga outer ring road and the Las Pedrizas toll motorway opened to traffic and a look at the statistics gives way to a positive overview.

Motorists’ associations argue that the better the road infrastructure the greater road safety, and in Malaga this appears to be the case. So far the outer ring road, known as the ‘hiperronda’, has seen no fatal accidents and only one collision of importance, on November 21st, when one man was injured. If we compare the months of November in 2010 and 2011 the death toll on the roads in the province of Malaga as a whole has gone down from ten to two.

While some drivers have yet to discover the benefits of taking the outer ring road instead of the usual bypass the new infrastructure is already absorbing a third of the traffic that would otherwise be on the old Ronda Oeste. According to a study carried out between November 7th and 20th, the new road between La Virreina and Torremolinos is used by a daily average of 25,000 vehicles, with peaks of 35,000 on Fridays.

Las Pedrizas toll road

Similarly the new toll motorway (AP-46) that links the outer ring road with Las Pedrizas can report a positive first month. With an average of ten thousand vehicles every day, the new road has taken around 30 per cent of traffic from the old A-45, which is now used by an average of 35,000 vehicles a day.

The firm responsible for the running of the toll motorway, Guadalcesa, stressed that so far there have been no serious accidents to report. The toll motorway is used most at weekends when the volume of traffic increases by as much as 40 per cent. This augurs well for user figures for next week’s public holidays and the Christmas period.

“Users are still not familiar with the new option”, said a Guadalcesa representative.

Málaga port opens up to the city

November 28, 2011
Málaga News
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costa del sol, málaga, port, shopping

A new commercial centre opens in Málaga today

A long time aspiration of Málaga becomes reality today as the port is finally opened up completely to the city centre. The process to bring down the railings and bring ‘Muelle Uno’ into the city has been a long and difficult one, beset by planning problems, but it completely changes the landscape in the city centre.

Rather predictably there is a commercial and leisure centre as part of the new development.

The idea was first voiced by the Socialist ex Mayor, Pedro Aparicio, who was Mayor between 1979 and 1995, and he fought long and hard with the Socialist central government for funding. A plan finally approved in 1998 has however been modified six times since then amid great controversy, and even now it is not exactly clear exactly what certain buildings will be used for, or the extent to which the old port boundary railings will be removed.

In effect ‘Muelle Uno’ becomes a new commercial street in the city centre and bordered by the sea, and along which cruise liner passengers can walk into Calle Larios in the centre of the city. 70 shops are in three main buildings, mostly fashion and leisure items, with bars and restaurants, and there is a childrens play area. Another building is expected to be used for cultural performances and exhibitions.

Malaga’s new runway, ready for take-off

November 25, 2011
Costa del Sol News, Málaga News
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airport, communications, costa del sol, málaga, tourism

Work began in summer 2007, just when Malaga airport was starting to show symptoms of saturation, and now its completion comes just in time for take-off, as monthly figures confirm a recovery in the tourism industry on the Costa del Sol. The airport’s second runway is now ready and is expected to be in operation from March 2012, after a test period.

From then on the airport will be able to double its number of take-off and landing operations (from 37 to 72) which means as many 9,500 passengers arriving or departing every hour, as many as 30 million a year. Malaga will become the fifth Spanish airport with more than one runway, after Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Gran Canaria.

At the end of last week the Spanish aviation authority, Aena, and the Socialist MPs, Miguel Ángel Heredia and Daniel Pérez, all sang the praises of the new runway and the benefits it would bring with it. According to the planned time scale, the initial safety tests are being carried out between now and September. These will take the form of test flights to calibrate the newly installed air navigation systems which send information to aircraft to help with approach and landing in adverse weather conditions.

Additional tests will be carried out during the rest of the year, so that Aena’s airspace department can design the departure and arrival manoeuvres. Once it has been confirmed that all the navigation systems, essential to guarantee flight safety, are functioning correctly, the airport will be given the necessary certification from the State Aviation Safety Authority, in order to be given the green light by Spain and the EU. Then it will be ready for use.

The runway stretches for 2,750 metres for landing aircraft and 3,090 metres including the extra take-off run. It’s location is 14 degrees from the existing runway, which makes them “quasi-parallel”. The dimensions of the new runway will mean that the larger jumbo jets will be able to take off and land at the airport.

The new runway, along with the T-3 terminal, is the most important project within the Plan Málaga, the almost one billion euro airport improvement scheme to modernise aviation infrastructure in Malaga. The opening of the second runway will mark the culmination of the ambitious scheme, vital to cope with the increase in passengers expected over the coming decades. The scheme also included the new train station and railway tunnel, improved road access and the extended car park.

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