Our Goals

The Coastal Path is an ambitious project created by the County Council of Málaga in collaboration with several public institutions, such as fourteen coastal municipalities, administrative unions of coastal towns, the Andalusian Government’s Department of the Environment and Territory Planning, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment for the Coast and Sea.

This project, which is meant to connect 180 kilometres of the coast line between Manilva and Nerja, has several goals. We offer their short description:

1) Make the coast passable by improving the old infrastructure which has not been connected with the rest of the coast-line path

Actually, the Coastal Path is the County Council project which purpose is to link some existing structures, such as promenades, cycle lanes and paths, with new sections, in cooperation with other administrative bodies.

Around 80% of the Coastal Path has already been opened for hikers thanks to the existing structures. Therefore, the following actions of the projects include works on 20% of the path. This is a long-term project, as it is planned to be carried out in five-year period of time and it is bound to come to some obstacles, as connecting some parts of this coastal land can be a rather difficult task.

2) Promote tourism on the coast of Málaga

The Coastal Path is meant to be an important tourist attraction because, thanks to it, walks from Nerja to Manilva will be possible, and new marketing opportunities for business people and entrepreneurs, hotels, bars and restaurants, as well as companies which supply with sports and active tourism products will be created.

The Coastal Path will be another and a very important reason why tourists of all kinds visit this area. It satisfies the needs of more economical kind of tourism, such as backpacking travel, or the one created for medium and big spenders, and for everyone who appreciates structures which are environmentally friendly.

3) The aim is to obtain positive economic impact and create job opportunities

According to the research carried out by the Planning and Development Society (SOPDE) of the County Council, the economic impact of this project should be larger than €40m (€24m will be created by the management of the infrastructure and other €16m by the consequences of its building), and will be able to offer 400 job posts a year.

As for the employment, according to this study around 270 jobs will be created and will be kept throughout the year due to the tourism activities and the use of the path, while around 130 jobs will be given for a 5-year period of time, which is necessary for completing the entire project and creating the path.

The economic impact which comes from the opening of the Coastal Path is based on four main aspects: the change in the tourist supply, as tourists will add this route to their holiday plans; increase in the average number of days tourists stay in the area; achieving new visitors; and obtaining financial benefits for building and outsourcing companies.

The above study also talks about the higher incomes for the province due to the bigger external spending and investment.

4) Emphasize the importance of the Coastal environment and refurbishment of public spaces

Thanks to this project, public beaches and the public zone of the shore will be refurbished. Moreover, it will allow visitors to approach natural sites of great importance, which are all around our towns, like Cantales de La Araña, Peñón del Cuervo Rock, Punta Chullera Headland and its beach in Manilva, Artola Dunes, the Vélez Delta, the mouth of the Guadalhorce, and the rocky land between the beach of Calahonda and Calaburras in Mijas. Moreover, people will be able to admire forty-two watchtowers along the coast of Málaga and the Phoenician ruins in Velez Málaga.

5) Underline the importance of historical sites

Once it is over, the Coastal Path will make it possible for visitors to see 42 watchtowers which can be found along the coast of Málaga, or and the Phoenician ruins in Velez Málaga.