EASTER bookings at a Costa del Sol hotspot have plunged by more than a third, tourism bosses warn, as local officials blasted Spain’s government over a ‘lack of infrastructure investment.’
Francisco Jerez, Vox’s tourism councillor for Mijas, revealed that reservations for this year’s Semana Santa have collapsed by 35% compared with the usual average, according to estimates from local entrepreneurs and business groups.
Jerez said the slump was partly down to ongoing problems with the high-speed train link from central Spain, warning the disruption is having a ‘huge impact’ on visitor numbers heading to the coast.
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Vox has been urging prime minister Pedro Sanchez for years to ramp up infrastructure investment in the area, the councillor said, but added the pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
“We trust Pedro Sanchez’s government will now act with the earnestness and urgency the situation demands,” Jerez told the Olive Press.
“A 35% drop in visitors means many restaurants, beach bars and hotels will not be able to hire the extra staff they usually bring on at this time of year,” he said.
“That translates into less economic activity and fewer job opportunities for countless families.”
According to Malaga’s 2025 annual tourism report, the province typically welcomes more than 14.6 million visitors a year, pumping a staggering €21.8 billion into the local economy.
Vox has called on the government to match infrastructure spending with the region’s booming tourism demand, urging immediate action on key projects – from fixing creaking rail links and the congested A-7 motorway to scrapping AP-7 tolls.
The party also wants beaches spruced up and water projects such as the Fuengirola–Mijas desalination plant fast-tracked – measures it says are crucial to keeping tourists flocking to the Costa del Sol.
Jerez warned that without fresh investment, the region’s main economic engine could stall, putting jobs at risk and threatening the Costa del Sol’s future.
“Tourism can’t survive if the government keeps ignoring the infrastructure it desperately needs,” he said.
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