Málaga is no longer for locals: the city is selling itself to tourism

The gentrification of Málaga: no longer a city for locals

A long-standing bar, a bakery, a haberdashery. All of them have closed. In their place: a real estate agency, an Irish pub, a kebab shop. It's the scene repeating itself on every corner of the historic center. For a century, Málaga was poor while its coastline attracted millions of tourists. Now wealth is arriving, but not for the locals. The city is turning into an open-air shopping mall, a "colonial center" that pushes out its own residents.

The tourism paradox
The phenomenon has two sides. On one hand, foreign investment, mostly British, is chasing sun and luxury. Prices are soaring, and there's already talk of overtaking Ibiza. On the other, locals themselves are selling their businesses for a fortune. Juan sold the bakery to an Englishman who turned it into a real estate agency. Paco sold the bar so it could become a pub. Mercedes sold the haberdashery and now there's a kebab shop. Everyone made a killing, but the result is that the city is losing its identity. Critics point out that an economy based solely on tourism is fragile: one ELbichito or one crisis, and there's nothing left.

It's not just Málaga's problem
Madrid and Barcelona have been like this for at least 20 years. The difference is that there it has already become normalized. But people in Málaga watch their neighborhood transform overnight. With local elections on the horizon, some hope the city will wake up and vote in a different direction. Meanwhile, the question remains: can a city live entirely off tourism? The spiral of prices suggests the average local can no longer afford to live in their own city.

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