Fuengirola leading the way in 2014 tourism

Fuengirola has topped the list for overnight holiday stays by national tourists on the Costa del Sol for the month of January.

The strong figures and the grand forecasts for the first third of the year confirm the break in the traditional seasonal nature of local tourism.

According to the Spanish Statistical Office, there were 200,000 overnight stays in 2013 and 35,000 more travellers than in 2012.

The Tourism councillor from Fuengirola’s Town Hall held a press conference about the new year’s solid figures which put Fuengirola in first place with over 65,000 for the month of January alone.

Fuengirola has actually reached 51.7 per cent occupancy and up to almost 143,000 total overnight stays during the month of January in recent years past.

Fuengirola’s Tourism councillor stated that it is a challenge to break with the seasonal nature of tourism along the coast but that “these figures confirm that Fuengirola is doing things right,”

He added that for the first time in many years Fuengirola has reached the same level as Torremolinos and has actually surpassed those of Marbella, Malaga, Estepona and Benalmadena.

The figures are apparently owed in part to good infrastructure, something about which tourists have commented positively.

There are expectations that the excellent kick-off to the year will increase in momentum to the point of possibly reaching levels seen in the early 2000’s.