Tourism review finds continued growth in Mijas throughout 2025

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The Costa del Sol town saw increases in accommodation, businesses and workers, which mayor Ana Mata described as “very satisfactory”

Tony Bryant

Wednesday, 25 February 2026, 11:50

The tourism sector in Mijas expanded throughout 2025, seeing a rise in accommodation capacity, active businesses, and employment.

These findings were presented this week by the mayor, Ana Mata, based on data from the Costa del Sol tourism and planning board.

The mayor described the figures as “very satisfactory”, noting specifically that the number of available beds increased by 9% compared with 2024.

Tourism councillor Francisco Jerez said, “This reflects a diversified structure that allows us to adapt to different visitor profiles and new market demands.”

The councillor pointed out that tourist rental properties lead these statistics, but the number of places has also increased in hotels, rural guesthouses, apartments, campsites and hostels.

“This means that Mijas is growing as a tourist destination and is becoming increasingly prominent on the Costa del Sol because it is ever more in demand,” he stated.

As far as hotel accommodation is concerned, virtually all places currently in service in the municipality (96 per cent) are four- and five-star.

However, the mayor pointed out the need to increase hotel capacity, for which, she said, the urban planning department will “prioritise” applications aimed at investment in the construction of new hotels or the upgrading of hotel categories.

The review showed that employment in tourism is also growing in Mijas, with more than 7,000 people registered with the social security system in this sector. This figure represents five per cent of all tourism workers in the province as a whole. The main increases have been recorded in travel agencies, tour operators and vehicle hire companies.

With regard to the number of businesses, the total is close to 800, an increase of 2.9 per cent compared with 2024, representing 5.5 per cent of the provincial total.

“Tourism continues to be an essential pillar of our local economy, especially in catering, tourist transport and accommodation, which account for the bulk of activity and employment. We are talking about thousands of families in Mijas whose stability depends directly on the good health of the sector,” Jerez said.

ITB Berlin travel fair

Mijas will step up its presence at the main international tourism forums this year. It will attend ITB Berlin next month, one of the world’s most important travel fairs, where the new promotional campaign will be launched “as part of a strategy aimed at strengthening our positioning in key European markets and consolidating the image of Mijas as a quality destination all year round”, Jerez added.

The provincial context has also been very positive. Malaga–Costa del Sol Airport exceeded 13.2 million arrivals in 2025, with growth of 7.2 per cent. “This reinforces our international connectivity and the strength of key markets such as the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany, which are fundamental for Mijas,” he concluded.