With 15.000 inhabitants, Hendaye is a municipality located to the North of Bidassoa, on the French-Spanish border. It is part of a regional municipalities association, to which Irún and Fuenterrabía also belong. This association covers includes 80.000 inhabitants approximately.
In the 1990´s Hendaye faced an economic crisis as a consequence of the opening of the national borders and the abandonment of the customs activities that constituted an important part of its local activity.
As time passed, the town was able to recover from this adverse situation, in particular with the wise choice of exploiting some of its tourist potential, becoming an attractive destination: the town has a 3 kilometres long beach, a leisure port with a capacity for 850 boats, a protected area of the Conservatory of the Coast of 70 hectares …
Due to the natural surroundings and urban situation, Hendaye faces a high demand for new accommodation, welcoming in a great number of new residents, many of whom come from the South of the Bidassoa.
The town planning has led the community to take a sustainable development approach for all its future projects.
On the other hand, in a wish to face the challenges of interregional integration, the community participates with all the innovating management of interregional cooperation, such as the restoration of a Local Program of the interregional Habitat, and the creation of the Txingudi Partnership among others.
