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Málaga Ends Tourist Horse-Carriage Rides After Buying Out Final 25 Licenses

City officials attribute the move to animal welfare, public safety, urban growth pressures.

Overview

  • The city paid €125,380.48 per license—€3.13 million in total—based on a February 2025 valuation by R&L Auditores.
  • The termination accelerates licenses that otherwise ran to 2035 under the 2015 ordinance, justified as incompatible with safe, sanitary urban development.
  • Reserved carriage-stop signage in Cortina del Muelle, Paseo de los Curas and Avenida Cervantes has been removed, with some spaces converted to motorcycle parking.
  • Carriage owners warn they may be unable to maintain horses without tourism income, while the city says animal care is the owners’ responsibility.
  • Similar services continue in municipalities such as Sevilla, Jerez and Ronda, and Málaga’s fairground rules still allow carriages during the Feria at Cortijo de Torres.