Fuengirola consolidates its tourism model in 2025 with record occupancy and employment

During the summer months, Fuengirola reached technical full capacity, with a hotel occupancy of 92.58% in July and 96.32% in August. The good data recorded has had a direct impact on employment, achieving a record average of 9,184 affiliates linked to the tourism sector.

12/30/2025 -The Councilor for Tourism of the Fuengirola City Council, José Luis Ponce, today offered the tourism balance for the year 2025, highlighting that the city has experienced “a strong summer and a clearly rising mid-season”, which consolidates the tourism model that the municipality has been working for for years.

As Ponce explained, “we are no longer talking about low season, but rather mid season,” a circumstance that confirms the success of the tourism strategy developed. During the summer months, Fuengirola reached technical full capacity, with a hotel occupancy rate of 92.58% in July and 96.32% in August, figures that placed the city at the head of the Costa del Sol.

One of the most notable aspects of the balance is that, despite these excellent data, there has been a lower sensation of tourist saturation compared to previous summers. “We have had more occupancy, but less perception of stress, which is exactly what we are looking for: for tourism to boost the economy and generate employment, but with the least possible damage to the daily life of Fuengirola residents,” said the mayor.

As for the mid-season, the trend has been equally positive. September closed with 72.8% hotel occupancy and the accumulated average between January and September stood at 65.4%. This growth has translated into an increase in travelers and overnight stays, with a direct impact on employment: the city reached a record average of 9,184 affiliates linked to the tourism sector.

Ponce has stressed that Fuengirola is framed in a context of record numbers on the Costa del Sol, “leading the rise in employment and job creation derived from tourism.”

Intense promotional work

In the field of promotion, the Department of Tourism has carried out intense work in the main source markets. Fuengirola once again led the presence of the Costa del Sol at the Matka fair in Finland, a strategic market to sustain the mid-season, where an advertising campaign was also carried out with very positive results.

Likewise, the city was present at the World Travel Market in London, the ITB in Berlin and Fitur, where presentations were made focused on health – claiming Fuengirola as a “solvable” destination –, sport and in the Marenostrum Fuengirola concert series as a great ambassador of the local tourism brand.

The promotional work has been developed segmented by market, with special attention to the Nordic, British, German and national tourism.

During 2025, Fuengirola has also renewed the Q for Quality and the S for Sustainability of the Tourism Office, which are added to the Q for Quality of the beaches, forming a complete package of tourist excellence.

Looking to the future, the councilor has announced that work is being done on an innovative tourism manager system based on advanced data analysis, which will be visible from January through the new tourism website and which will likely be presented at Fitur. “It will be a first-class tool that will allow us to anticipate tourist movements and adapt our offer to present and future needs,” he explained.

Another milestone of the year has been the International Country Fair, which in 2025 increased its number of visitors by 10%. This growth occurred without increasing the feeling of overcrowding, thanks to measures of organization and diversification of public flows, in the same line as the model applied during the summer.

To conclude, José Luis Ponce thanked “the commitment of hotels, businesses and companies in the tourism sector, which are the spearhead and the best image of our city”, and has reaffirmed the City Council’s commitment to continue working in 2026 “for quality, technology, promotion in strategic markets and the promotion of events that place Fuengirola on the front line of tourism on the Costa del Sol and nationally.”