What keeps Málaga going?

Water: A dry city with a thirsty season

In 2023 the airport station recorded 179 mm of rain, the least since 1991, and EMASA managed severe scarcity through much of 2024. A wet 2025 and an above-normal 2026 have eased it. Tourism water use is still not measured by sector, so the next drought will be felt before it is seen.

• AEMET, Málaga Aeropuerto station
• EMASA 2024 accounts
• EMASA drought measures

Community: Where visitors sleep, residents feel it

Platforms booked 7.5 million guest nights in 2025, about twice the city’s hotel nights, and 8,288 homes are tourist dwellings. Centro residents are the most negative about tourism (18%). The council has opened a planning amendment on tourist uses.

• INE experimental tourist-dwelling statistics
• Eurostat platform accommodation
• STO, resident satisfaction (OMNIBUS 2023)
• PGOU amendment on tourist uses

Mobility: Many markets, one airport for the whole coast

Málaga–Costa del Sol handled 26.8 million passengers in 2025, +7.4% on 2024. 69% of the city’s hotel nights are foreign, but no retained source says which countries. High-speed rail from Madrid is the other door, and domestic hotel nights have fallen in 2026.

• AENA traffic statistics
• INE hotel occupancy survey
• Madrid–Málaga high-speed rail, ten years

Governance: Low debt, no reserve on record

City debt fell from €619 million in 2008 to €197 million in 2025, and a Sustainable Tourism Observatory already tracks the destination. What is missing is a promotion budget history and a reserve that would keep campaigns running when visits fall.

• Ministry of Finance, municipal debt
• Málaga Sustainable Tourism Observatory

Málaga on the CIRA Index

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