The Costa del Sol has lost €109million worth of tourism revenue following the devastating Cordoba rail disaster and continued disruption sparked by the weather.
Since the high-speed rail accident in Adamuz on January 18, which claimed 47 lives, followed by a landslide on the line near Alora, the AVE service between Malaga and Madrid has been suspended.
There is still no confirmed reopening date, leaving Spain’s most important winter sun destination scrambling.
Now, a stark report by Turismo Costa del Sol estimates the shutdown has already cost Malaga’s tourism industry a staggering €109 million.
Between January 19 and March 1 alone, almost 66,000 tourists are expected not to make the journey.
The study calculates that these missing visitors would have spent €71.8 million directly in the province – in hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions – with the wider knock-on economic impact pushing total losses to €109 million.
The Madrid–Malaga high-speed link is one of the main arteries feeding the domestic tourism market, particularly for weekend escapes and short winter breaks.
According to the report, more than 140,000 people would normally have travelled by train during this period.
Even after accounting for those switching to flights or complicated alternative routes, nearly 66,000 trips are forecast to vanish entirely.
Francisco Salado, president of Turismo Costa del Sol, has called on the Spanish government to activate emergency financial aid to offset the losses.
He warned that reliable, competitive transport infrastructure is fundamental to a destination’s success, particularly in the domestic market where speed and convenience heavily influence travel decisions.
Rail operator Renfe has already revised its reopening timetable multiple times. Initial targets of February 2 and February 8 passed without trains returning to the tracks. The latest indication points to March 1, but confidence is thinning.
Flights have not provided a realistic alternative. Fares have surged sharply amid limited seat availability, with some routes reportedly costing more than long-haul flights to destinations such as Istanbul or Doha.
For many would-be visitors, the journey has simply become too expensive or too complicated.
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