Spanish tourism feels pinch of economic downturn

October 1st, 2008

Few Spaniards would sacrifice their annual summer vacation. But while Spain’s beaches are still busy, shops and restaurants at its resorts are ominously quiet as the country’s economic crisis envelops the tourism industry.

After 50 years of uninterrupted growth, Spain’s overbuilt and relatively expensive resorts seem ill-placed to cope with a downturn, at a time of increasing competition from cheaper, less-crowded destinations like Croatia and Turkey.

“In 48 years, I have never seen losses like this; tourism bosses I’m talking to have never suffered so much,” said Domenec Biosca, president of Spain’s Association of Tourism Directors and Experts. He said that in many parts of the country, tourism was already in deep recession, as both Spaniards and foreigners travel less distance, stay less time and spend less money.

Spain’s biggest hotel group, Sol Melia, reported that profits fell 41 percent in the first half of the year, while those at business hotel group NH dropped 20 percent. Revenues in the Canary and Balearic islands have fallen as much as 12 percent this year, Biosca estimated, predicting that such mature destinations would gradually decline in the face of foreign competition, despite lowering their prices.
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Cheap rental car in Spain

September 22nd, 2008

As an independent broker of rental cars, we offer the best prices for car rentals in Spain. Our intelligent car hire system compares the prices of many auto companies in Spain, for example, in Mallorca, Alicante, Malaga, Valencia, and so on.

All the car rental agencies in Spain are reputable and provide the guarantee for using your vehicle. With one click you can immediately see all models available from all providers of rental cars, sorted by the best price in each car hire category.

Our competitive prices and a new fleet of rental cars in Spain guarantee you have chosen the best. No matter what site you choose, we offer an efficient and friendly service for car hire.

Rental cars in Tenerife

July 28th, 2008

Tenerife is the biggest of the Canary Islands. Its capital and port Santa Cruz de Tenerife is located in the north of the island. You can spend your holidays in the green and cooler north in Puerto de la Cruz or in Los Cristianos and Playas de las Americas in the sunnier and drier south.

With a rental car you can easily discover the whole island during your vacation and see the different landscapes Tenerife offers.The highest mountain of Spain, the 3.718 Meter high Pico del Teide, is a dormant volcano in the centre of Tenerife. The area around the volcano is a national park where you can see the different landscapes and surfaces created by the eruptions. There is even the Parador Hotel if you wish to stay overnight.The Anaga mountain range in the northeast is the oldest part of the island of Tenerife. It was formed by a volcanic eruption. Because of the relative altitude and the passage of the trade winds it is an especially humid zone, which favoured its special flora diversity, including the Laurisilva trees. Enjoy a drive along the winding roads with your rental car. Tenerife is a popular destination for golf players as it offers 9 different golf courses, the majority of them in the south.Tenerife has two airports: the smaller Tenerife North (close to La Laguna and Santa Cruz) and Tenerife South (close to Los Cristianos and Playas de las Americas). We work with various renowned car rental companies at both airports and in the resorts. Request a quote for your car hire in Tenerife on our website. Our search engine will find you the best deal available.

Travel Directory Online

July 22nd, 2008

www.travel-directory-online.com is a really useful travel directory with the best travel websites from around the world to form a comprehensive and easy to use resource for all kind of travellers.

The portal is exclusively dedicated to linking holidaymakers with websites that offer holidays and travel information that is relevant to people looking to travel. It is your personal gateway to travel on the internet.

You will find lots of information about hotels, flights, city guides, airlines, car hire, excursions, rural accommodation, tours, safaris, sport activities, golf, country holidays. On top of that there is plently travel information giving you useful information and great tips for every destination. Many of the destination guides offers plenty of information for dining, entertainment, accommodation and more.

The site is easy to navigate and you will be able to find what you are looking for in just a couple of clicks. It will help you in planning your holidays and improve your travel search, by avoiding the waste of time of browsing websites that are generally returned by the major search engines when you undertake a travel search and which in many cases are not relevant for your travel search.

Travel websites are listed in the category and/or sub-category which is relevant to the services and products they offer. If you want to find airlines, hotel search sites, cruise lines or UK transport information, the user friendly navigation system enables you to find the relevant websites quickly, thus making the time you spend on your travel search more productive.

The directory is highly recommended, specially if you are looking to organize your next holidays.

Rent a car in Sevilla

June 25th, 2008

Seville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Sevilla. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an avarage elevation of 7 metres above sea level. It is a city with an important religious architecture, which includes many convents and churches. The bridges of Seville and the museum are also of great importance as they form the character of the city. Sevilla offers a large selection of tapas bars and you cannot go wrong by ordering a sample in any restaurant or bar off the beaten path.

If you would like to dicover the surroundings we recommend a rental car. There are several vehicle rental companies offering cheap car rental in Sevilla. Hispacar offers the best prices if you need a hire car in Sevilla, no matter if it is for leisure or for business. The vehicles at Seville airport are available 365 days a year.

Car hire at Bergamo airport

May 27th, 2008

Car hire at Bergamo airport is the best way to see the region. This airport is serving the northern Italian region of Lombardy and is situated about 45 km to the north of Milan. With increasing numbers of people booking cheap flights to the airport with low cost budget airlines, Bergamo airport has become steadily busier in recent years and the amount of italian car hire companies offering cheap car hire in Bergamo has increased as well.The city of Bergamo is a relatively small city in comparison to Milan and Verona which are also popular airports in northern Italy. From Bergamo airport it is not far to a number of other magnificent Italian holiday destinations in the Lombardy region like Milan or Verona and there is much to discover in this part of Italy.

Bergamo is a city separated into two very parts - the energetic and modern lower city, and the upper city, with it’s strong sense of antiquity and heritage. From Bergamo it is easy to visit the great lakes like Como, Maggiore and Garda or the Alps in Switzerland and the north of Italy. Car rental enables you to enjoy the rich cultyure and natural beauty in Lombardy. Bergamo itself has enough attraractions and sights to keep you busy during a short break. The city walls offer pleasant walks with beautiful panoramic vistas of the region.

With a landscape made up of mountains, lakes and a collection of charming and unimposing towns and villages, Lombardy generally attracts a lot of outdoor pursuit holidaymakers. The Lago Maggiore, Garda and Como have become holiday resorts in their own rights and are peppered with sailing clubs and pretty holiday villas.

With its hugely natural surroundings, Lombardy is the perfect choice for cycling, hiking and skiing holidays With ski resorts like Ponte di Legno and Bormio. Bergamo is the perfect location for exploring the countryside and discovering the odd medieval towns and villages of northern Italy.

We recommend to book your car hire in Bergamo online for the best rental. Your rental vehicle can be picked up as soon as your fligth arrives at the airport of Bergamo.

Milan hire car

May 8th, 2008

Milan car hire opens up the opportunity for you to discover Italy at your leisure. Stroll through the fashionable shops of the city, visit the museums at the Castello Sforzesco, or head for the breathtaking Italian countryside in this lovely area of Italy. If you have booked a Milan hire car you may leave the bustle of the city whenever you like and visit the nearby Alps with some of Europe’s most stunning views, easily accessible from Milan with a rent-a-car.As an independent website we are not bound by deals with individual car hire suppliers in Italy. We concentrate on providing you with excellent prices and conditions from the leading car hire companies in Milan and many other destinations worldwide. We offer a large rental fleet and several pick up locations, so finding car rental in Milan which suits your needs is both easy and economical.

When you book your car hire at Milan airport with us you’ll receive a detailled booking voucher via e-mail. After arriving at Milan Airport, proceed to the arrivals hall where you’ll see the desks of the car rental companies in Milan (Linate or Malpensa).

Milan boasts world class shopping for genuine or window shoppers alike. The centre of the city’s activity is Piazza del Duomo which is watched over by a magnificent 14th century cathedral. Milan’s other major attraction is The Last Supper of Leonardo da Vinci, which can be found in the refectory of the Convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie.

The city also has an enviable opera and music scene, with the famous Teatro alla Scala. For car rental in Milan just use the intelligent car hire booking engine for cheap car hire in Italy.

The one place everyone goes

April 30th, 2008

Extending from Nerja in the east to Sotogrande in the west, the Costa del Sol now enjoys good road communications between the various main towns along the coast. This enables a couple from Marbella, for example, to visit the Cervantes in Málaga and later savour sorne traditional tapas in the historical city centre. Or a group from Torremolinos to join the carousing along Fuengirola’s promenade.In theory, that is because generally not everyone likes to venture far from their borne territories - be it because no one in the party is willing to volunteer for driving duties and thus not drink (the Coast’s public transport facilities are ample and efficient during the day and early evening, but non-existent after midnight, except for taxis) or simply because they are happier remaining on familiar ground.

There is, however, one exception: Benalmádena, and specifically the port and Plaza Solymar, which have become the favoured and trendy night-life choices for young people (and young at heart) from along the entire Coast. Barely 15 years ago, the port was just that: a port, or marina, inhabited by yachts and sailors. Residents and visitors were able to take a leisurely Sunday stroll along the beach from La Carihuela, or down from Arroyo de la Miel, wander among the handsome maritime vessels and dream of pulling up anchor and sailing off to the Caribbean - before waking up, returning to reality, looking for a kiosko for a rejuvenating ice-cream, then moving on up to Benalmádena Costa for more substantial refreshment.

Much has changed. First, the new apartments took shape, then a few bars, restaurants and shops opened. Next came the special attractions such as Sealife - and gradually more apartments (all tastefully designed in commune with the seafaring atmosphere of the area), bars, restaurants, shops and la movida. Benalmádena Port became the in place to go on a Friday and Saturday night - and even on the weekdays in summer. And for those who occasionally wanted a small change of scene (though not location) there was always the Plaza Solymar 24-hour square on the main road through Benalmádena Costa, a popular leisure area that heaved with weekend revelry even before the port came into existence.

If this all sounds a little exhausting for those with less frenetic tastes, it must be said that the port - and Benalmádena Costa in general - is not just about noisy nightclubs and discotheques after-hours. There are piano and flamenco bars for dancing. Live jazz bars and other music bars where you can relive the 60s or 70s. Or terrace bars where you can sip on a beer or cocktail while indulging in that favourite Spanish pastime: watching the world go by. And then, of course, there are the town’s other entertainment amenities a little further afield.

In Arroyo de la Miel, on the way up to Benalmádena Pueblo, the Tivoli World amusement park has become a Costa del Sol institution - and not just for the children. The rides and attractions are unrivalled anywhere on the Coast, but Tivoli offers much more. Live stage performances at the western and Andalucian plazas are held throughout the afternoon and evenings, and many of Spain’s finest singers and groups have performed in the amphitheatre.

Then, for a little more refined entertainment, there is the Torrequebrada Hotel and Casino, back on the coast road towards Fuengirola. This exceptional tourist complex, the only five-star hotel in the area, offers multiple services in the style of Las Vegas’ grand hotels. The magic of the Sala Fortuna, where you can sample a marvellous dinner while the flamenco and international stage-show bursts with life around you. And the casino itself, with machines that tempt your luck and a variety of other games of chance: roulette, poker, blackjack. In a word, then, in Benalmádena you will find truly everything that you could possibly want to make that evening special and memorable.

Cheap Car Hire in Faro - Portugal

April 14th, 2008

Among the best places to visit in Europe we often find ourselves quoting the beautiful country of Portugal, this is a beautiful place bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and islands which are also part of the country, Madeira and Azores. To the south of this country we find the attractive municipality of Faro, which is the biggest city of the Algarve region.

This beautiful place has attracted a great deal of tourists due to the fact that it has many peculiar characteristics, there are old-fashioned buildings and many landmarks that make this an unique place to visit. The most effective way of transportation used by visitors who want to get to know this region is the car, specifically car rentals. European car rentals are ranked among the best in the world due to the fact that their vehicles are of the best quality, in fact most of them are manufactured within European countries, which are in one way or another these related to the car manufacturing business.

If you are planning to visit Portugal then finding a cheap rent a car in Faro is of the utmost importance. Car hire companies who offer multinational pick up and drop off locations are quite convenient for obvious reasons, and even if you’re planning to take a plane to visit yet another country these services even provide drop-off locations at the airport.

Using car hire at Faro airport is a great way to create beautiful memories, Faro’s streets are very interesting because even they tell stories of not only this municipality but of the country itself. One place you should definitely visit is Faro’s downtown area because the streets are paved with a cool looking tiles, they have different designs and change from street to street, tiles are not only found within the downtown area but are actually everywhere in Faro, you will find them in historic places and old constructions which are relevant to local history.

The best way of finding cheap car hire in Portugal is to do a web search for companies who operate car rental offices throughout Portugal, this way you will be able to choose a low-cost form of transportation which will save you a premium while traveling across Portugal and the beautiful municipality of Faro.

Mallorca car hire

March 31st, 2008

Mallorca Son Sant Joan airport is located only 8 kilometres west of the capital city, Palma de Mallorca. The terminal building offers all the services of a major international airport. The airport brings about 20 million passengers every year to the island and Son Sant Joan is the the third busiest airport in Spain. The aforemetioned tourist services can be found inside the terminal building, amongst them Mallorca car hire from leading companies with a proven track record.

Mallorca is one of the most popular holiday islands in the world. At www.hispacar.com we compare the leading car hire companies at Mallorca airport and local holiday destinations on the island so that you get the lowest prices and the widest choice of rental vehicles. Every year visitors arrive in millions for holidays in Mallorca, bit you can still find some secluded places inland, a discovery which is best done by rental car. A wide choice of Mallorca car hire companies offer their services at reasonable prices. Try our easy to use search engine if you would like to receive a quote for a cheap hire car on Majorca.