News

• Six Local Action Groups (LAGs) in Malaga are cooperating to modernize the region's domestic tourism
• Among its main actions are the organization of study trips, the development of best practice guides, a gender analysis, and a product catalog

For several years, Málaga has focused on strengthening its inland tourism offerings and diversifying its positioning, with the added challenge of balancing economic growth with respect for the environment and social cohesion. In this context, the six Local Action Groups (LAGs) in the province of Málaga have joined forces to promote a shared initiative that adds territorial value, fosters best practices, and establishes a sustainable tourism model.

The LEADER cooperation project   “Innovation, Quality, and Sustainability of Málaga’s Tourism Offer” has served as a pilot project for tourism innovation in rural areas and as a tool for mutual learning among regions. Through various initiatives, such as publications, workshops, manuals, and the development of a sector-specific analysis, the Local Action Groups (LAGs) have laid the groundwork for smaller municipalities to adopt modern tourism management methodologies, adapted to their scale and specific context.

Project objectives

With the aim of creating a more competitive and connected inland tourism sector, the project defined the following objectives:

1. Promote technological innovation in the province's tourism sector by learning from successful experiences in other regions.

2. Promote the modernization of the tourism sector through the inclusion of new technologies, sustainable practices and openness to new markets.

3. To strengthen the relationship between local gastronomy, short circuit products and the tourist experience.

4. Promote the adoption of health control systems and quality standards within the tourism sector.

5. Integrate gender equality policies into the tourism sector, both in companies and in the design of strategies.

6. Disseminate good sustainable practices applicable to rural and inland tourism.

These objectives have served as a guide for the various actions carried out during the project, in which the six LAGs involved actively participated.

Actions taken and results

The LEADER project “Quality, innovation and sustainability of tourism activity in Malaga” has deployed a diverse range of actions, some of which are already reflected in public documents :

• Development of the Benchmarking Manual of successful initiatives in domestic tourism , with national and international cases, as a reference for the LAGs.

• Publication of the Guide to good practices in tourism marketing , aimed at companies and intermediate destinations in the interior of Malaga.

• Publication of the study “The situation of women in the tourism sector in the interior of the Province of Malaga” and development of the Gender Equality Strategy for tourism companies .

• Design of the “Catalog of seasonal products – Axarquía region” , as an example of how to link local products with the tourism offer.

• Conducting study trips and promotional exchange days, such as: a visit to the Basque Country within the framework of the project to learn about applicable models.

• Project presentation days in the Guadalhorce Valley and other rural areas of Malaga.

• Dissemination of results through a joint report on the execution of final results of the cooperation project “Quality, Innovation and Sustainability of the tourism offer in Malaga”, quantitative and qualitative analysis of the actions carried out .

Participants and funding

The project has had the participation of the public company Turismo y Planificación Costa del Sol SLU (Diputación de Málaga) as a collaborator, along with the following LAGs:

• GAL Axarquía

• GAL Guadalteba

• GAL Sierra de las Nieves and Serranía de Ronda

• GAL Sierra Norte de Málaga

• GAL Guadalhorce Valley

• GAL Antequera

This project is co-financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of the Andalusian Regional Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) within the framework of the PEPAC 2023-2027 Cooperation intervention, under the LEADER participatory local development methodology.