The economic crisis continues to affect the number of visitors to the Nerja Caves, down by 10% during the first three months of this year when compared to 2009.
In 2009, the total number of visitors was down by 4.8% on the previous year. The caves are seen as a sort of economic thermometer, both for domestic and international tourism.
The manager of the Nerja Caves Foundation, Ángel Ramírez, believes that the fall in visitor numbers was inevitable, despite a vigorous promotion campaign. He also believes that without such a campaign, the decline would have been much greater.
Many of the national attractions and monuments have suffered a decline in visitor numbers over the past couple of years, some experiencing quite dramatic falls.
The Nerja Caves remain the most visited site in Málaga province and recorded a total of 390,000 visitors in 2009.