We were in Santa Ponsa the first 2 weeks of June and we thought it was quieter that the previous year. Bar owners were blaming the World Cup - saying that people were staying at home this summer. Dont know how true that is.

I think a lot of the bars & restaurants are affected by the rise in all inclusive packages, so people that would normally be about are staying around their hotels to eat & drink.

Also now the choice of places to go is phenomanal, no longer do people just go to destinations in the Med for their holidays but now long haul travel is affordable and easily available.

One bar owner in Mallorca said to us that now you just have 3 months a year to make your money - June, July & August - and the money you make during those 3 busy months tides you over for the rest of the year.

Its a shame that a lot of businesses will fail due to lack of trade but I dont know what the solution is.

Carmel

Went to cala n forcat during the may school hols and it was deed come 11oclock it was like one man and his dog. mind you was in benidorm first week in aug and thought it was quite busy but having never been to benni before i cant realy judge the resort like people that have been that time before

think this is due to being just as cheap going AI in the caribbean

I think that this is one of the inevitable consequences of the growing popularity of 'All Inclusive' holidays. Bars and restaurants outside of the hotels rely on people leaving the hotel and coming to spend their money but the AI concept is a powerful incentive for people never to leave the hotel. And of course it's not just the bars that suffer - taxi drivers and local shopkeepers etc lose out too. But the biggest losers in the end could turn put to be those of us who don't want to go AI and for whom eating and drinking in small local bars etc is all part of the holiday experience.

I can't ever imagine going to one of the AI resort hotels in the Caribbean or on the Red Sea etc even if it is cheaper. They could be anywhere and I really like to get to see and get a sense of the local culture etc and also to get a chance to meet with locals and not just fellow tourists from back home. But the growth of the AI concept means that this can be harder and harder to do because even if I don't stay in an AI resort hotel once they become dominant in an area there simply aren't enough people around to support the local infrastructure and an area becomes 'quiet' because fewer people are venturing out of their hotel which I think is a pity.

SM

Many of the AI hotels in the Caribbean are not located in a resort but are a good taxi ride away - the pull of the caribbean for many is the beaches and these tend to be away from towns. The concept started over there and works very well. If I were going somewhere where there were plenty of restaurants and bars within walking distance then I would not go AI, but I would otherwise - and would also venture out at least a couple of times.

It's in the main resort areas of other destinations that I wouldn't choose AI as you are right, it takes away a great deal of business for the resort. However, it is such an expense for families to go away, especially in school holidays that I can't blame them for choosing AI as there are bargains about and is the difference between going abroad or not.

I think the world cup might well have had an effect also - coupled with England being knocked out and then having the whole of the July heatwave - people might have been looking to book last minute and then decided not to because of the super weather here.

while i agree about the concept of the AI sort of helping to kill off the other traders nearby.. alot of it depends on the person on holiday. We always go AI yet we don't stay tied to the hotel.. we make a point of exploring as much of the culture/area as we can. We generally have breakfast at the hotel and then head out for the day, returning in the evening..we have found some lovely little cafe's on our travels, some excellent culture and always enjoyed the "native" feel about it.

For those people who say they are restricted to the hotel as they have paid for all their meals.. well fine, but if you ask the day before, many places will make you a packed lunch to take out..and if you don't.. well so what if you miss a meal that you feel you have paid for.. how much of your weekly shopping gets lobbed out becuase it has not been eaten!

I would hate to be couped up in one place for the entire duration of the holiday.. but each to their own i guess..

Spain has taken a knock in the last few years due to the cheap deals on offer for places like Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, and as a result tourism slowly diminished but I feel that will change when these countries join the EU and just like Spain, they will have to supply the high standards that the tourists in the 21 century expect.

The official figures for the Costa Del Sol are actually very promising and I know the figures for the Costa Blanca are up, but don't have the breakdown for the Costa Blanca to hand
Loyal holidaymakers have returned and Spain has regained its popularity, thus some resorts experiencing the best tourist season since 2001.
The Costa del Sol has seen an increase of 9% and by the end of this summer, the average tourist will have spent 45.58 euros a day, making an income of 176 million euros throughout Andalucia alone an 8% increase on the previous years"¦then you have all the other regions to consider.

In July of this year, hotel occupancy in Andalucia was 85% full and filled by 500,000 tourists, more than half of them Spanish the recovery of the German market has also meant a 4% recovery of tourists from Germany.

So, whether the resorts seem quiet or not"¦someone is still travelling to Spain and spending money there....3.6 million visitors passed through the province of Andalucia this summer.

Viva Espana

Sanji x

Edit:
Whether you love them or loathe them...A1 has had a detrimental effect on the local bars and whether you want to believe it or not, the increase in petty crime in the resorts has made people aware of where they go and how late they stay out at night.....more often than not, people head back to the security of their hotel earlier than they may have done in years gone by.

Sanji x

I do have to say in reply to the first paragraph there that as a regular visitor to Turkey - their standards are in no way inferior to those in Spain. I don't know about Bulgaria etc., just my thoughts having visited both.

I cannot comment on overseas resorts as we holiday somwhere different each year and also different times of year but here in The Lakes it has just been reported on the local news that it is the first year since Foot and Mouth that it has got busierand the job situation is improving not just in the tourist sector

Well I'm not going to go down the road of Spain v Turkey, and it being approx 15 years since I stayed in Icmeler Turkey, the standards (at that time) were not as good as Spain, but that is understandable because Spain has had at least 40 years experience in catering for the tourists I wasn't particularly referring to "standards" of newly built hotels in Turkey etc.
Spain along with France have been the biggest beneficiaries of money from the EU pot, both putting less in than any other member, and as a result the whole infrastructure of Spain has changed in the last 20 odd years.
The infrastructure in places like Turkey, Bulgaria will also change"¦why on earth do you think they are so eager to join the EU.?"¦more employment opportunities, better state health system and better roads"¦Spain has a better road network than the UK and many other European countries.
Oh and Spain's state health system is now classed as 9th in the world"¦the NHS being the 19th.

SanJi x

Just a point to that little old chestnut about "when Turkey get into the eu" they will not be getting in if they do actually choose to for at least 11 years yet as they have yet to have accession talks.

Bulgaria has been accepted along with Romania.

John

-- Edited by MarkJ HT Mod --

It's only a matter of time Turkey has been an associate member of the EU since 1963 and an official candidate since 1999, but you are right John, we may be looking at 2020 before Turkey is accepted into the EU they (Turkey) have a lot to do.

There are also all the other Balkan countries eager to join Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia to name just a few....all wanting to promote and develop tourism after the devastation left from the Kosovan/Baltic conflict.
Yugoslavia ( when a country) being one of the favourite holiday destinations years ago, the area now needs the EU to clear all the land mines for the tourists to come back
SanJi x

Hi Sanji,

I think you'll find that in the fifteen years since you last visited Turkey - it's a totally different place to the one you remember. As most places are.

I know Turkey very well (I have a place out there) and I also travel around the country. I also know Spain. I think they're both nice countries in different ways. Except Turkey has far more beautiful scenery.

I do think the all-inclusive hotels have had a detrimental effect for local businesses - in all the mediterranean countries. To my mind, many hotels have cottoned-on to the financial rewards of supplying all-inclusive, and I think it's a shame. I can understand people wanting to go all-inclusive when visiting the Caribbean (where drinks are £10 a cocktail in regular hotels) but in Turkey, the drinks are relatively cheap in comparison, despite the prices having risen in the last few years.

I personally can't see the need for an all-inclusive holiday to a place such as Turkey - or indeed Spain.

Having said that, I did stay in an all-inclusive hotel in Antalya for a couple of days (had to as we couldn't find a hotel that that just did B&B) and I can honestly say that it was fantastic. The hotel was 5*+ (and I've travelled) it was luxurious, had every amenity you could wish for, the food was excellant, the entertainment, the hotel's private beach lovely, everything you could wish for.

Had I booked two weeks there I doubt I would have wanted to leave - and I'm a real explorer.

I know some all-inclusives are pretty dire - they water down the wine, serve dreadful food........and quite honestly, the extra money spent has been a total waste when you don't enjoy the food and feel thoroughly miserable.

In the past I have always gone B&B in a hotel (or half-board if required). That way, I'm free to choose whether to dine at the hotel (they stick the cost on your bill) or go out to authentic, local restaurants. All the hotel's entertainment is still available at an extra cost - but only IF and WHEN you want it!

I can think of nothing worse than booking all-inclusive and being stuck in a dump!

We were in Northern France this summer with Eurocamp and the rep on one of the sites was commenting on how many good late deals Eurocamp and the other equivalent companies had this year in the north. That area has taken a hammering due to cheap flights to the south of France, Spain and Italy.

Strawberry7
i would just like to say how right you are with your comments

The thing is with web-sites like holidaytruths and similar you never have to stay in a dump again as you can research your accommodation thoroughly. There are not only AI dumps out there, but B&B and SC ones also.

I went to Olu Deniz this year and was told it was quiet, most of the bars were at least half full of an evening, but I was not sure if in previous years they would have been full. Rumour was lack of tourists due to Bird Flu and World Cup :shock:. Afraid I stayed AI in a hotel called the Belcekic Beach which was brilliant, but we go out as well.

Usual problem/issue, it cost little more than a one bedroom apartment would have cost to rent, so the food is a bonus, if you like it great if not eat out.

can I just say on the subject of hospitals we had to visit one of the hospitals in Maramis in July this year with our 9 year old daughter who has Down's Syndrome she has serious heart promblems and also has very bad chest problems we have spent most of her life in and out of hospitals in the U.K so we have had our share of hospitals to the extent of her having serious open heart surgery and all I can say is the hospitals in the U.K could learn a thing or to from this hospital the treatment we recieved was second to none and certainly the best we have ever recieved for her and as for cost our N.H.S should be ashamed of what it would have cost if we had to have went private for her at home. This might be going a bit off subject but felt it needed to be said/

We visit Cyprus every year in early Sept and have noted a steady decline in the numbers of people over the past 5yrs or so,maybe getting too expensive and people are now taking 2no holidays per year so the more expensive locations are losing out.