The experiences are the result of workshops and mentoring in which 80 young entrepreneurs from the local districts have participated thanks to the agreement between the Malaga Provincial Council and the “La Caixa” Social Project’

Cicerones Rurales in conjunction with the La Noria innovation centre is completing its project with the creation of around ten new slow tourism tours and experiences in Axarquia and The Serrania de Ronda, as a way of combating the depopulation being suffered by these regions through sustainable tourism based on the resources of these rural areas of Malaga.

These 10 slow tourism experiences highlight the fruit and vegetables grown in the regions, the monumental heritage of Velez-Malaga, Axarquia’s sugar industry, the watchtowers and hidden beaches of Maro, the waterfall at Canillas de Aceituno, the chestnut, cork oak and cherry tree forests of the Genal Valley and pork-related cuisine from the Serrania de Ronda.

The slow tourism model highlights stories about people and places in the province that need to be preserved in order to promote and maintain the authenticity of local communities through this new niche of entrepreneurship and employment, where experience and a connection to the destination are fundamental.

The vice-chair and Deputy for Social Innovation and Depopulation of the Malaga Provincial Council, Natacha Rivas, explained that “Cicerones Rurales: Slow Tourism Malaga is a social innovation project aimed at promoting a newly emerging model of slow tourism in the province of Malaga, specifically in the areas of Axarquia and The Serrania de Ronda. It enhances the entrepreneurship of the local population not only as a means of promoting local resources, but also as a way of combating the depopulation suffered by these regions of Malaga”.

These projects have been brought together in the Cicerones Rurales Slow Tourism Catalogue (download it here), which was launched today at a networking event held at La Noria. This event aims to raise awareness of these new experiences among different agents and professionals in the sectors for rural tourism, gastronomy and marketing of tourism products .

The head of the Product Creation and Consulting Department of the Public Company for the Management of Tourism and Sport in Andalusia, Antonio Jesus Reina, gave the event’s keynote presentation under the title “Product creation and enhancing the rural environment with slow and experience tourism”.

The project, financed by the Malaga Provincial Council and the “La Caixa” Social Project, provided training over six months to 80 entrepreneurs from the regions of Axarquia and The Serrania de Ronda. These training courses provided students with knowledge of local resources in their respective territories and the possibilities they offer for the creation of slow tourism projects, thereby creating economic activities in different villages in these regions.