Spacious new corner offices aimed to assist tourists and foreign residents alike have opened at Plaza de Andalucia. Staff operating the information desk at the brand new foreign residents' centre are fluent in English as well as several other languages. The new central Torremolinos office combines the culture offices, tourist information and foreign residents' department under one roof. The new offices will be open to the public from Monday to Friday, from 9.00 am to 2.30 pm.
Although the foreign residents' department can provide advice and guidance regarding IBI taxes, the population census, residents' permits and the padrón for example, the officers serving at the new town centre offices are not permitted to issue official documents; that service will continue to be performed by Town Hall employees at the relevant offices.
The culture office part of the new centre offers residents and tourists information concerning future cultural and sporting events, while the tourist information part of the offices provides visitors with local guide books and maps as well as a multitude of foreign language publications.
Torremolinos' new tourist and foreign residents' office replaces the old foreign residents' department in Plaza de Independencia, which will in due course receive a new lease of life as the town's first gourmet market, an attraction that should delight residents and visitors alike.
Finding new Ways to deal with record-breaking Numbers of Tourists
When the World Travel Market opened in London staff manning Andalucia's stand revealed that the region will have provided more than 50 million overnight hotel stays by the end of this year. It's been an astonishing year for Spain as a whole, but Andalucia and the Balearic Islands have seen more tourists this year than ever in 2016. Susana Diaz, President of Andalucia's Junta, explained that the British market had been particularly strong and was still the main source for international tourists visiting the South of Spain. Tourism numbers from Britain have risen by 17% compared to last year.
She explained that this year's tourism figures would exceed the 27 million estimated at the start of 2016 by far, a figure then believed to be rather optimistic. So far, between January and September 2016, Andalucia has welcomed ca. 28 million tourists, a rise of 7% compared to the same period in 2015 that translated to around 50 million overnight stays in hotel rooms. Such unprecedented tourist numbers were responsible for a 5.4% rise in new jobs being created, bringing the total of workplaces in Andalucia's tourist industry to ca. 378,200.
“We underestimated ourselves. In the end we're going to exceed the most optimistic forecasts," Susana Díaz added.
Torremolinos will not be the only town to rethink what can be done to offer tourists a better holiday experience in Malaga Province. From the city of Malaga to Marbella, everywhere along the Costa del Sol tourism chiefs and town hall officials are putting together plans that will ensure that Andalucia will retain its place as one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. Foreign residents and those occupying their Costa del Sol holiday homes for part of the year are benefiting in the process as better amenities are springing up all around them.