This weekend if you’re in the region of the city of Alicante, why not pop in to the Laseda Market? This market is aimed at lovers of fashion, art and decoration, and visitors will be able to buy the latest fashions and trends from all these sectors. There is also plenty to keep young children …

With so many people visiting for the first time this summer, we thought we’d share our top 10 tips for driving in Spain.   In Spain we drive on the right. It might seem like an obvious thing to say Read More ...

Figures released this week show that Spain received 10.6 million foreign tourists in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 5.3% over the same period of 2014, with an additional 500,000 people visiting the country. The British and Read More ...

The Minister for Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, recently opened the 15th World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit together with the President of the Autonomous Region of Madrid, Ignacio González; the Secre...

Hoteliers and restaurateurs in the province said they felt "very positive" after the first major holiday period of the year, in which hotel occupancy had actually touched 100% in Benidorm.

Hosbec president, Toni Mayor, said that in many other areas the occupation rate was up to 98% and it had been a ‘spectacular week' for restaurants, cafes and many other hospitality-related businesses, ‘the best Easter in the last 10 years bringing over 40 million euros into the local economy.'

Of the total expenditure, 55-60 percent was in the coastal province of Alicante, which, according to the Minister of Economy, Industry, Tourism and Employment, Maximo Buch, reached an average occupancy of 85 percent, who has expressed "satisfaction" with the results achieved in the number of travelers and overnight stays, an increase of almost a five percent over the same period last year.

The Minister said that Easter "is often a barometer of the upcoming summer season, for which we now have high expectations in terms of travelers, overnight stays and tourist spending."

He also praised "the positive impact the occupancy rate has had on employment generation, which will help consolidate the good results already achieved in the province during the first two months of the year, with over 58,500 employed in the tourism industry, 7% more than the same period last year. "

Buch made the remarks during his visit to the Escuela de Hostelería de Elche, launched by the local council last March. He praised the school saying that the initiative "is an example of how such training can help create job opportunities, placing them within the leading tourism activities that create employment."

Under new public security laws working their way through the Spanish parliament, anybody wishing to use a public internet terminal, such as in a bar, shop or cybercafé, would have to provide identification papers, and the business record the det...

Officers from the National Police have broken up a criminal gang, thought to be responsible for conning around 2,000 people out of money, as part of a network of people operating as gas inspectors. A group of 12 people have been arrested across the co...

Luis María Pizana, Torrevieja councilor for Tourism and Hospitality, was joined by José Antonio Lozano, President of the Asociación de Empresas de Hostelería de Torrevieja and Region, in the Tourism Centre (CDT) Auditorium l...

According to data released this week by the Ministry of Economy, Industry, Tourism and Employment, the province of Alicante received a total of 70 million euro to improve the electricity and gas networks in the province during 2013. According to spoke...

The town hall are still keen to point out that the newly opened civic centre on the Orihuela Costa may is available to community groups looking for premises to hold regular meetings, and welcome formal applications from associations who may be interest...

In his recent speech to members of the tourism industry, Mariano Rajoy highlighted the fact that performance by the sector "has once again become a source of satisfaction and good news this year. That was the case throughout the crisis and has been for decades".

According to the President of the Government, these results are due to the extensive nature and high quality of the tourism offer in Spain but also to the efforts made by the competent authorities and the business leaders and employees in the sector, who he congratulated on their hard work.

The efforts made by everyone in the sector mean that the tourism data from 2013 are "the best figures in the history of Spain". Mariano Rajoy explained that the 60 million inbound tourist barrier has been broken for the first time after growth of 5.6% on the previous year was recorded in 2013 and the previous record set in 2007 of 58.7 million inbound tourists was shattered.

Spain has thus returned to "third place in the world according to this indicator, after moving above China" to a position behind France with 83 million inbound tourists and the United States with 67 million.

The President of the Government underlined another important indicator: spending by inbound tourists also posted a new all-time record with a figure of 55.9 billion euros between January and November 2013 - almost 9 points higher than the figure posted in 2012. According to Mariano Rajoy, "we can clearly see that a new record is being set and that last year was also a record in terms of spending per tourist".

Leaving the crisis behind

The President of the Government acknowledged that "this crisis has caused unquestionable damage" - as highlighted by the unemployment figures - but that "Spain is now leaving the crisis behind and heading towards recovery".

In his opinion, the reformist programme implemented at the start of this legislature has led to a change in the global perception of Spain and "the world is now betting on Spain because Spain today is a winning bet".

Evidence of that, he said, can be found in the fact that the Government of Spain is forecasting growth of 0.7% this year - a forecast that is "rather conservative when compared with other forecasts being made on the performance of our economy".

However, the President of the Government said that "confidence in our future is not synonymous with satisfaction and by no means a reflection of decreasing efforts" because the reforms will continue. In fact, he said the government will present "a comprehensive fiscal reform aimed at improving the fight against fraud, stimulating business activity and alleviating the fiscal burden on households" within the next few months.

He highlighted the strong influence by the tourism sector on this turnaround, a "true flagship of our economy". Mariano Rajoy believes that tourism has a "trickle-down effect" on other parts of the economy and "is one of the sectors posting the best performance data during years of real hardship, with positive results even at times when it was thought impossible".

Tourism: Spain's face to the world

The President of the Government said that this positive performance by the sector in recent years has brought about a golden era for Spanish tourism, with positive figures posted by all autonomous regions and a successful combination of opening up to new markets and a strengthening of results from existing markets. The reactivation of domestic tourism can be added to this scenario.

The President of the Government believes "the right atmosphere must be created for tourism activity to flourish, a stable framework for investment, one capable of guaranteeing the rules of the game and enhancing entrepreneurship and attracting young people into this sector".

Mariano Rajoy encouraged business leaders and employees in the tourism sector to keep working together with the public authorities on maintaining this positive trend and stressed that "the 'Spain' tourism brand is undoubtedly a powerful aspect of our country brand as it represents our face to the entire world".

Tuesday 28th January, 2014 ORIHUELA Lecture, Museums in Orihuela and the International Declaration on Cultural Tourism and Sustainable Museums, Biblioteca Pública Municipal María Moliner. Exhibition – “Lápiz, papel y bombas”, (Pencil, paper and bombs), Civil war drawings, Sala San Juan de Dios (Until 31st Jan). Photography exhibition – “ADIS ROCK 2013”, Sala de exposiciones de la Lonja (Until 7th Feb). …