The Association of Hotel Owners of the Costa del Sol was founded on 22 April 1977, under the provisions of Spain's 1977 Professional Associations Act. Following a difficult early period, marked by Spain's transition to democracy, AEHCOS succeeded in establishing itself as an indispensable body in shaping the great leap forward in terms of quality and quantity seen on the Costa del Sol over the last 30 years. The association currently includes over 346 hotel establishments, with more than 77,000 beds between them, making it the largest hotel association in Spain. The track record of its member companies has established the Costa del Sol as one of the world's leading tourist destinations, both in the capacity and the comprehensive quality of the services it offers. The Costa del Sol was in 1977 experiencing a phase of huge growth, with inadequate national and international transport connections which nonetheless did not prevent thousands of tourists from choosing this stretch of coastline as their holiday paradise in southern Europe. Those first foreign visitors brought with them the winds of modernity. It was a time of uncertainty, with the first democratic elections in over 40 years on the horizon. And it was at this challenging point in history that AEHCOS was founded. There were two decisive factors in its emergence: the pressure exerted by the nascent trade unions, and the lack of infrastructure in order to provide the Costa del Sol with the services essential to a major tourist destination. The association's first chairman, Juan Sánchez, who passed away four years ago, took the helm of the employers' association with the aim of positioning the Costa del Sol as a leading destination, persuading various public authorities to support this goal. Cándido Fernández Ledo then took up the baton passed on by Juan Sánchez. The 40-day strike in the sector did real damage to the Costa, damage which it took a great deal of work to undo. Luis Callejón had the task of guiding AEHCOS through the early 1980s. The fourth chairman, Pedro Turpault, was faced with numerous problems, with large numbers of hotels reducing their star rating in order to pay less tax, exacerbated by the constantly falling value of the peseta, which lost up to 20% of its value. He was replaced in 1991 by José Luis Sureda, at a time of national euphoria thanks to the Universal Expo in Seville and the Barcelona Olympic Games. Miguel Sánchez a short time later began the longest chairmanship in the association's history, leading him to be involved in the tough labour negotiations of that period, and the mature process of unceasing growth. José Prieto, meanwhile, was faced with the beginnings of the great tourist revolution we are experiencing at present, defined by the Internet and low-cost airlines. This turbulent situation was passed on to Salvador Vilches, president of AEHCOS today, who has set himself the task of ensuring that the Costa del Sol is recognised and marketed worldwide as a quality destination.

The association currently includes over 346 hotel establishments, with more than 77,000 beds between them, making it the largest hotel association in Spain

The Costa del Sol brand

The history of AEHCOS forms an intrinsic part of the story of the Costa del Sol, whose origins as an international tourist destination began to take shape at the start of the second half of the last century. There were many factors behind the creation of the Costa del Sol "brand", although the records show that this stretch of the Andalusian coast was being marketed under the name as early as the Latin American Expo held in Seville in 1929. According to various witnesses, the phrase "Costa del Sol" was coined by an Austrian consul who lived in Cadiz and journeyed regularly to Almeria. He took the coastal route, meaning he had to pass through the provinces of Malaga and Granada, and it was he who gave the name of the Costa del Sol to that whole length of coast on account of its benevolent climate: the "Sun Coast". Years later, the remarkable tourist boom along the coastline of Malaga province led to the term Costa del Sol being used to refer exclusivley to this particular stretch. In any case, the true history of the Costa del Sol began in Torremolinos, with one undisputed name behind it: George Langworthy, better known to the locals as 'El Inglés' thanks to his British roots. This remarkable individual settled with his wife in Santa Clara Castle, which he bought at the end of the 19th century, and which would subsequently become a residence for overseas visitors. Years later, Carlota Alessadri Tettamanzy was to turn one of her properties into what became the Parador de Montemar, while shortly afterwards the La Roca Hotel opened its doors. Few could have imagined that these three establishments, which attracted visitors of outlandish customs, were to give rise to a tourism business of the highest order. The opening of the Hotel Pez Espada, in 1959, was the clarion call for the consolidation of Torremolinos as a holiday resort which was already beginning to attract numerous stars from the world of music and cinema. The rise of Torremolinos led to an inevitable domino effect, and by the late 60s and early 70s nearby towns such as Benalmádena, Fuengirola and Mijas had embarked on their own meteoric development. At the same time, a few miles west of Torremolinos another boom was beginning to take shape, in this case courtesy of Alfonso de Hohenlohe, Norberto Goizueta and José Luque, who placed Marbella on the very top rung of international tourism. If was Alfonso de Hohenlohe himself who opened the Marbella Club in 1954, drawing aristocrats, magnates, film stars and, in short, the whole jet set, to Marbella year after year. The opening of Puerto Banús in the 1960s similarly attracted grand yachts to its harbour, soon establishing the marina there as the hottest name on the Mediterranean. Less dramatic, but no less significant, was the tourist development of the eastern part of the Costa del Sol, lying almost entirely within the district of La Axarquía, with its unmistakably Moorish roots. The bestknown town of this region, Nerja, began to make its name in holidaymaking circles after the discovery in 1959 of a vast and impressive cave in the nearby village of Maro. Over the half century since the early steps taken by Torremolinos, a town which could scarcely believe the way in which it succeeded in taking the international tourist scene by storm, the Costa del Sol has successfully adapted to the needs of tourist flows, and is today the Spanish mainland's leading region in terms of its number of visitors, with a range of accommodation and leisure opportunities to satisfy the broadest and most specific of tastes.

The phrase "Costa del Sol" was coined by an Austrian consul who lived in Cadiz and journeyed regularly to Almeria. He took the coastal route, meaning he had to pass through the provinces of Malaga and Granada, and it was he who gave the name of the Costa del Sol to that whole length of coast on account of its benevolent climate: the "Sun Coast"

More Information: www.aehcos.es