Costa Tropical Blog

Driving up into the old town of Salobreña isn’t as much fun as it used to be especially when you go up one of the streets to find it blocked off. There you are, half way up the hill into the old town, weaving your way round the tight corners, when suddenly in front of you the road has diggers and men laying new pipes. Where was the diversion sign? OK, that in itself is a pretty silly question in this part of the world. Now you are stuck in a one way system with no way out other than to back right the way down. Many of the works now taking place in the old town are for new piping and in eliminating the overhead cabling attached to what seems every building and street corner. The Council admit that while this work is being done it is going to create quite a few ‘annoyances’ for the residents although they are endeavouring to keep this to a minimum. They ask for the understanding and collaboration of the residents and Olga Garcia, Urban Department, has said that throughout the schedule of works they will try to give out precise information which will hopefully help let us know about the changes in direction of the streets and a minibus will be put into operation to help the residents. Unfortunately, as with most information that comes out from the Council, it is often far too late to be of any practical use and we would advise those new to Salobreña or visiting the town to stick to foot patrols around the upper town! (unless you fancy yourself as the next Fernando Alonso reversing down the narrow streets of Salobreña).

Playa Granada beach area and the Los Moriscos golf course are most certainly two of Motril´s most important assets for future tourism. The Mayor of Motril has recently been to the FITUR tourism show in Madrid talking up Motril´s potential as an area of interest to the Spanish and foreigners alike. Motril Tourist Office have reported that, in the first two months of 2007, the number of tourists visiting the office has doubled to 5,200. This really isn´t surprising when you consider that the tourist office relocated in April 2006 and that you should have received a medal if you had managed to locate the old one tucked away in the backstreets of the town. It should also be noted that 9 out of 10 people who visited the tourist office were Spanish.

During the summer months the population on the Costa Tropical area doubles or triples with the flood of tourists visiting the area who are mainly Spanish. We don´t need more tourists in the summer months, what we need is tourists between October and May annually.

Let´s set a scenario here … you have a two bedroom apartment you wish to rent out, it´s newly built, has all mod cons, a large communal swimming pool and only a 2 minute walk from the Los Moriscos golf club and Playa Granada beach. You have everything you think you need for a property with good all year round rental potential … except there is one fatal flaw, no tourists between October and May. Your communal swimming pool is only open between mid-June to mid-September, the golf course is unable to take bookings further than a two day period in advance (website currently only in Spanish), there are no shops open in the area to walk to (the building opposite the golf club entrance was put up 2 years ago and is meant to have small shops, where are they?), you need a car to get out and about although there is a bus service. The Los Moriscos golf course put up its prices in August 2006 when it became 18 holes and it is now as expensive to play a round of golf there as it is on the Costa del Sol. These huge communal swimming pools are fenced off for 9 months of the year but are kept in fully functioning order all year round. Regulations require life guards to be on duty during pool opening periods, for larger pools this might mean 2 lifeguards have to be in attendance and perhaps while only a handful of people are using it.

The problem is that the majority of owners in the Playa Granada beach/golf area are Spanish and only visit their properties over the summer months. They are simply not interested to pay for the pool to be opened all year round when they are not in residence and for the benefit of a few people who wish to rent their properties throughout the year. Only a half hour drive westwards on the coast and you will find rental properties with pools open all year round and with shops and bars in walking distance.

So …there is a good possibility that the new ´pueblo´ that will house 20,000 inhabitants on Playa Granada beach will actually be a ghost town every year between October and May. Has the Mayor really been fully briefed on Motril´s tourist potential and its current shortcomings?