More than half of all tourists, both foreign and domestic, travel as a family. For years this fact has encouraged tourism industry operators and entities on the Costa del Sol to develop an integrated marketing concept in order to perfect a product to satisfy adults and the little ones, parents and children, without ever neglecting the needs and motivations of each member of a family group. In this respect the limitless opportunities offered by Málaga for cultural, entertainment, sporting and leisure activities, combined with a very complete lodging infrastructure adaptable to every need and the province’s multiple resources and attractions, make this vacation area a favourite for family tourism.

A large proportion of Costa del Sol establishments, aware that such visitors are the hotel industry’s main clients and make up almost sixty percent of that market, design and offer packages that include not just lodging but also supplementary products and services directed especially at families. Hotels thus cease to be mere lodging places and become true promotional centres for the concept of family vacationing, able to properly advise and encourage their guests and provide them with the tools for enjoying a few unforgettable days in the company of their loved ones. 

Campgrounds and operators of interior tourism businesses have also joined this trend and some have specialised in this field by preparing specific programmes targeting such tourists, who travel in groups averaging four or five persons and who also display a high degree of destination loyalty.

A number of tourist complexes on the Costa del Sol have gone even farther and carried specialisation to a height of originality. These are the so-called “theme hotels”, a novel, entertaining and innovative formula based on a principle as basic as it is obvious: if children are the lords of the castle at home they are also certainly the power players when it comes to family vacations. 

One of the most illustrative examples is a resort in the municipality of Torremolinos that belongs to a large hotel chain and whose premises evoke in detail the strange world of the famous animated series “Los Picapiedra” (The Flintstones). Having breakfast in a prehistoric inn in the company of Fred, Wilma and Barney, or taking part in a troglodyte party attended by friendly brontosauruses and other imaginary characters are some of the possibilities offered by this centre that has placed its bets on a marketing model that is being very warmly received and is yielding excellent results, not just in the case of this facility but in all those that have modelled their operations along these lines.

Other establishments, for their part, have chosen to install facilities for the leisure and relaxation of the parents and the amusement and enjoyment of the offspring, whether by replacing the traditional swimming pools with small water parks equipped with toboggans, refreshing attractions and children’s Jacuzzis, by enhancing sports fields and playgrounds by creating golf mini-courses, tennis and paddleball courts or gymnasiums with activities for all ages, or by scheduling game and instructional programmes that prove that fun and learning are not separate concepts, least of all while on vacation.

In addition to these initiatives it should be noted that in numerous hotel establishments, including campgrounds, there are so-called “mini-clubs”. These facilities are small leisure and entertainment centres especially designed for children, who are looked after at all times by trained monitors. The parents are thus entirely free to engage in adult activities or to simply rest and relax, secure in the knowledge that their children are being well cared for by professionals qualified in the field of children’s recreation.