Has the Spanish vacation bubble burst?
Since the 1970’s and the birth of the package holiday which assured sun, sea and fun in abundance, the British public has flocked to Spain and especially the South of Spain.
In certain areas of the coastline it would not be uncommon to discover cafes offering English breakfasts or fish and chips. Put it this way, it is improbable you’ll need to translate English to Spanish since the local inhabitants are so well experienced in managing British tourists. Spanish translation to English takes place most on the Costa del Sol simply because that’s where the majority of British tourists go.
In contrast there are actually much quieter parts of the country which will provide a lot more in terms of culture and natural splendor. When you compare cities such as Granada and Salamanca to say Valencia or Bilbao you can see two distinctive sides of Spain.
In Salamanca along with other cities there is plenty of stunning traditional architecture which is reminiscent of times gone by when the world was a much simpler place and a time when you’d worry about the health of your chickens instead of the health of your bank balance.
In stark comparison to this you then have a city like Valencia. Proof of the 21st century is abundant in the architecture of buildings but in addition the city itself. The streets have been constructed in a very properly considered and deliberate way, with the emphasis being on functionality.
Then again it would be incorrect to label Valencia as a completely modern 21st century city, in actual fact there’s some incredible architecture from the past in the very heart of the city which reflects the city’s seafaring history.
This summer has in fact been relatively different and in many ways challenging for Spain. A mixture of the economic uncertainty along with a bad euro exchange rate has left the Costa del Sol with miles of empty beaches and extremely little in the way of luxury family holidays.
According to The Office for National Statistics 15% more Britons holidayed in the UK in comparison to this past year and the country which in turn missed out most of all was Spain with the amount of visitors down 19%. Just how much of an impact this made on Spanish to English translation is difficult to determine however with a lesser number of visitors it is tough to think the industry being at its best.
What many people are asking now is has the Spanish bubble burst? The answer is no. There will always be some years when because of whatever predicament tourism will suffer, but because of its location and climate Spain will always entice tourists. Furthermore it is a significant part of the Spanish economy so as far as they are concerned it doesn’t really matter where tourists come from, as long as they arrive.
The recent headline that Michelle Obama is going to be travelling to Spain for a holiday will be eagerly anticipated by many in Spain and after the country was crowned as World Cup winners she should arrive in a country full of energy and optimism about their future.
Author bh06als writes for Quo Vadis Travel who are specialists in luxury family holidays.
Spain could be the next destination for your luxury family holiday.