A Junta bigwig for Economy & Employment, Juan José Martín Arcos, can be seen sitting in a canoe on La Herradura beach, part of a kayak-flotilla of local politicians.

Is there cause for the hegemony of the United States Navy to tremble? Not yet, because this is a photo call to reassure the locals of the Costa Tropical that the Junta is looking after their beachy interests!

The mayors of Almuñécar (PP Trinidad Herrera) and Salobreña (PSOE M.ª Eugenia Rufino) and the Councillor for Tourism (PSOE Alicia Crespo) and the Chairman of the Mancomunidad, (PSOE Sergio García) were all there, eyeing the plimsoll lines on their water-shy canoes to promote the Encuentro de Empresas de Turismo y Ocio Activo.

This promotional campaign has two events: one on the 2nd of June in the Centro de Desarrollo Turístico in Motril, and the other, the Open Doors event for companies on the Costa Tropical running from the 5th to the 11th of June.

So, apart from not drowning, or even getting wet, for that matter, what was the high-density gathering of politicians about? I’m glad you asked… It’s about underlining what a great vocational destination the Costa Tropical is outside the summer months! Do you need politicians for that? No, just flip-flops and social media, but that is besides the point.

It’s all about getting more Spaniards from around the country, and guiris in all shades of sunburnt red, from beyond, to hit the beach; naughty beach. Politicians talk of giving ’tools’ to companies to advertise their businesses in order to attract more visitors. If we’re talking about euros, then, hey, Guys, here we are! Half of our monthly online visitors are from the UK and nearly a thousand are from the States.

But returning to poverty and this article… the Junta bigwig pointed out that the area lacks off-season tourism — the man’s a genius! He said that tourism starts in May and fizzles out in September. According to Sr. Martin Arcos, visitors qualify the leisure offer as 6.9 out of 10, which is below the Andalusian average, standing at 8.1.

So, what’s the plan; how do they plan to cooperate with private businesses and boost local tourism?

Well, around 50 local businesses are going to participate in the Open Doors event at the beginning of June, which will concentrate, amongst other activities on nautical sports, paragliding, canyoneering , etc.

During that week, leisure-related (sports) companies will offer discount prices and extended opening times, as well as raffles and gifts and the Almuñécar, Salobreña and Motril branches of Cades will be using the media and social media, as well as through clubs on the coast, to reach as many potential visitors as possible.

Here are some figures for you: there are 778 companies within the tourism sector on the Costa Tropical, which provide employment for 1,930 people

(News: Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)