Business
Vendors at Malaga's Atarazas market almost unanimously reject proposal to work afternoonsThe proposal received only one vote in favour on Tuesday, burying a debate that periodically resurfaces
Atarazas stallholders during the meeting in Malaga on Tuesday. (Migue Fernández)Matías Stuber
29/04/2026 a las 12:08h.After a 40-minute meeting on Tuesday and a show of hands, the opening hours of the centrally located Atarazanas market in Malaga remain the same: from Monday to Saturday, from 9am to 2pm. With almost absolute majority, the market stallholders rejected the proposal to remain open in the afternoon.
Of the vendors present, only one voted in favour of extending the opening hours. For the proposal to go ahead, it required the support of a supermajority of 75 per cent of the stallholders.
According to several stallholders who SUR interviewed on Tuesday, there are various reasons for this outright rejection. Most begin their workday at 2-3am at Mercamálaga or at one of the fish markets in the province. There they obtain the produce they later offer at their stalls. "By midday, you've already worked 12 hours. It's impossible to keep working in the afternoons," one stall owner said.
Furthermore, the stallholders strongly believe in the need to limit the flow of tourists who visit the Atarazanas market daily, drawn by the allure of a building that is a cultural heritage site.
Why do stallholders want to limit the flow of tourists?
"The problem is that it creates overcrowding and the locals, who used to come to buy things, have stopped doing so because of the hassle of navigating through the crowds. Tourists take a lot of photos, but they don't buy much," a stallholder said.
The debate regarding the opening hours of the Atarazanas market also reveals the disparate interests of the business owners in the hospitality industry, for whom opening in the afternoons would allow expanding the scope of their businesses.
In any case, according to head of the Atarazanas vendors association David Ruiz Morales, "none of those who proposed opening in the afternoon showed up for the voting". Approximately 60 people attended the meeting.
Ruiz is aware of the request to "regulate the flow of tourists", admitting that it's a common complaint he receives from many stall owners who have been working there for generations. "It's a real issue, but one that's difficult to resolve. We have to remember that the Atarazanas market is a public building. Limiting entry simply because people are tourists would be difficult," he told SUR.