‘The solution is not more tourists.’ Málaga’s mayor navigates his growth challenge

Since 2000, the 83-year-old mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, has overseen its transformation from a holiday resort into a city with year-round cultural and economic pull. On his watch, passenger numbers at Málaga airport have risen to 25 million a year. The Carmen Thyssen, Picasso and Pompidou museums have anchored a cultural offering with longevity, while nanotechnology firms, research centres and international business schools have bolstered an economy that was once reliant on tourism. Steady diversification and political stability are De la Torre’s central achievements – and why he has won six consecutive elections since assuming office 26 years ago, making him one of Europe’s longest-serving mayors.

That stability has helped Málaga to invest in public spaces, pedestrianisation and improved liveability. The mayor’s policies have supported the historic centre, while annual hotel occupancy in Málaga city is 84 per cent – well above the national average. But success has brought challenges. Half a million cruise passengers arrive in the city a year, swelling footfall on its streets and beaches. Locals and visitors jostle daily for space, just as parakeets and pigeons square up along the orange-treelined Alameda Principal. De la Torre insists that the city’s next phase will be defined less by growth than by control. “The solution is not more tourists,” he says. “It is better-quality tourism, with greater spending capacity.”

The mayor is leading the way with creative solutions to problems that are particularly acute in Spain, such as overtourism and housing. Like their compatriots, malagueños are contending with a housing crisis; prices rose 25 per cent in the city last year, with foreign buyers accounting for a third of purchases. In response, De la Torre froze new tourist-flat licences in central districts and is planning a tax on short-term rentals. The revenue generated, says the mayor, will help to fund rent subsidies for locals on lower incomes. He is also lobbying for more devolved power. Málaga has land for about 6,000 homes that are ready to be built but plots for 28,000 remain tied up in planning. “Local governments in Spain have responsibility but not the power,” says De la Torre.

At a polished table in Málaga city hall, he sketches on a pad of paper as he speaks. The drawings illustrate two subjects that dominate his thinking: how to encourage visitors to explore Málaga beyond its beautiful but crowded centre and the complexity of the Guadalmedina river project – an ambitious regeneration plan that he hopes to deliver before leaving office. The project would create a mile-long green corridor above an underground road link to Málaga’s booming port. But at a cost of €300m, it will require national and European funds. “It’s very complex,” says De la Torre. But he is determined. “I always think first of the city for the citizen,” says a mayor who returned to work within a month of having a stroke in 2020. “If the city is good for the people of Málaga, it will also be good for those who visit.”